


The Witch and the Reaper

by Foxzila44



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-22 20:32:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4849553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxzila44/pseuds/Foxzila44
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a half-witch meant only half the lifespan. You grew to truly love Kid, but when he reciprocates those feelings, it only leads to more turmoil than joy. </p><p>You ask yourself, how can he love someone destined to die?</p><p>Rated for language and future triggers/violence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'll be honest, there is no guarantee I'll finish this, but it looks to be going well so far, so I decided to upload the first of four parts, so I hope you enjoy, although this one is rather short. I do very much enjoy comments and feedback, anything helps! Thank you!

Being a witch wasn’t necessarily a doomed fate. However, it didn’t seem a favored one, either. Although powerful, you were disliked by many. You weren’t sure really why when you were young. Your mother was never one to be hunted down, to your knowledge. She was even good friends with the big reaper with the goofy looking mask-- He liked you, and you were even friends with his son. 

You always figured Death the Kid was older than you. Being three, your speech and coordination was already superior in some ways-- Maybe it just came with being a witch. That’s what Mama said. Kid seemed a little more coordinated and was able to speak better, though. Then again, that could also come with being a reaper. Either way, you liked coming over to his house for playdates. 

His house was huge-- You were sure you hadn’t even seen half of it! You even had ‘your own’ designated room for when you stayed the nights. Your favorite game you liked to play was hide and seek. It was easy enough, and Kid wasn’t so strict on everything. Whenever you colored or played with blocks, he’d always insist that everything had to be even and balanced-- Symmetrical, right? You could hardly pronounce it. 

You liked to play house, too, but Kid didn’t want to play it a lot of times. He said it wasn’t as fun with not as many people. You only got to play it twice; Once was one of your first playdates with Kid, and the second was when Lord Death had brought home another kid one day-- His name was BlackStar, you were sure. He was really enthusiastic and loud and his spiky blue hair was the perfect match for his personality. He was also quite bossy-- You only saw him one other time, but didn’t really mind. He was a little too rough and rambunctious for you(for Kid too, it seemed). 

Life was good. It was a mostly set schedule. When Mama would go to work, you would get dropped off at Kid’s house for a good portion of the day. Other days, you’d be dropped off at Auntie Rachel’s house. Mama had said something about Auntie being your father’s sister of the sort. You didn’t know for sure, considering you hardly remembered what your father looked like. Mama said he disappeared when you were only one or so. 

You didn’t mind going to Auntie Rachel’s house that much either. She had a nice dog, big and fluffy, and her son, Justin, was fun too when he wanted to be. He liked listening to music a lot, but when he wasn’t, he would play house with you, and even color and play tag. He was only a couple years older than you, afterall. 

It was fun while it lasted. You thought it would last. How would you know any better, afterall?

One day, everything changed. 

It was a vivid memory, burned into your mind. Something you probably wouldn’t forget for years to come. 

You were another year older, now at the age of four. You and Mama were walking home, side by side, holding her hand and humming as your arms swung along. “What did you do at Kid’s today, my sweet?” She asked, looking down at your with soft brown eyes. You had to admit, you didn’t really think you looked like your mom-- She had such a pretty, slim face, and doe brown eyes that held years of wisdom, and a tenderness only for you. Your hair, even though the same color as hers, didn’t seem to be as luminescent and shiny. 

“We played hide and seek! Again.” You added, giggling as you remembered. “I was so good, I found Kid only like…” You thought on this, counting on your fingers. “Like, only five seconds after I finished counting!” Your mother smiled down at you, her eyes crinkling so familiarly. 

“How impressive! You must have great perception.” She complimented, and you blinked up at her. 

“Yeah! I have great prespection!” You responded, and she chuckled at your pronunciation. You both turned a corner to take the way you normally did home-- It was dark out, so you liked to follow the streetlights-- but your mother froze suddenly. Her eyes were focused ahead, and you looked up at her again, blinking owlishly. “Mama?” She didn’t respond, but the grip on your hand had tightened. 

“Let’s take another route home.” She suggested, voice quiet and quick, ushering you along into an alley. 

“But-- But why?” You blinked again, and she looked at you, placing a finger over her lips. 

“We’re going to play ‘hide and seek’, okay? But you have to be quiet, so we can win!” She informed, a small, forced smile playing on her face. You didn’t know any better, so hastily agreed with the nodding of your head. You quickly followed along as fast as your stumpy legs could. You heard a noise, and looked over, only to stumble on a ditch in the alley. Mama quickly pulled you back up with an arm, her eyes growing wide, and yours as well as you saw what was pursuing you. A large creature, brute looking with a gaping maw of jagged teeth, and claws ragged enough to tear through flesh. Its teeth bared, and it lunged. Your mother gasped, picking you up to run, and had started to, but did not get very far. 

She gasped out, suddenly stopping and accidentally letting you go. You cried out, hitting the ground and rolling a bit. Looking up, you saw Mama ripping out one of the claws from her leg, tossing it aside. She stood back up, stumbling over to pick you up, but she cried out your name as one claw penetrated through her side, yanking her back somewhat. “Mama!” You screamed, reaching out towards her, and she did as well. 

“Hide!” She cried out, and your eyes widened, still unsure about what she had said. “Hide, please! Don’t lose the game!” She cried desperately, and you only flinched back, and turned, sprinting over to some crates. You ducked behind them, shaking faintly, and heard some commotion. “Soul Protect, Release!” You heard your mother call out. You weren’t sure what was going on. There was just scuffling sounds, sometime screeching ones, then, suddenly, a thud and gasp. Silence. You shivered, about to look around the boxes, until suddenly, the large creature landed in front of you. You screamed, ducking as it slashed a claw out at you. The impact was enough to completely shatter the crates behind you, leaving it in pieces. 

Shuffling backwards, you could only think of grabbing a large shard of wood to protect yourself in some way. You grabbed a piece, splinters pricking your hands, in which you winced at this. However, you swung it over, holding it towards the creature as it drew its lips back in a sneering snarl. Clawed hand drawing back, it swiped the piece out of your hand, cutting your wrist and arm in the process. You cried out in pain, watching it raise its hand again. You cowered back, eyes shut tight, waiting for the piercing impact that never came. 

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

You felt it. On your cheeks, forehead and nose. Some on your hands. Some on your legs. Slowly, you opened your eyes, gaze dragging upward to see your mother standing over you, looking down at you. Her arms were splayed out, and you saw three claws straight through her stomach and chest area. 

She had taken the blow. She coughed, blood splurting out of her mouth, more droplets landing on your horrified face. “We’ll… We’ll win the game… But… You have to close… Close your eyes.” She coughed out, giving a weak, trembling smile. 

“I… I don’t wanna… Mama, I--”

“Close your eyes, baby. Then we win.” Mama intervened softly, her own eyelids drooping a fraction. You weren’t sure if those were blood or tears dripping down her cheeks. You did as she commanded, though. You shut your eyes, and heard the sound of something similar to a blast, and a screech resonated through the air. Then, there was more silence, and you felt more blood splash onto you. 

You opened your eyes for the second time. The creature was gone. The monster was no more. Only a small, floating soul lay in its wake, glowing a sickly, evil red behind your mother. You let out a shaky breath, looking up at her. Tears welled in her eyes, and she gave a soft, sullen smile. 

“We won. You did it, sweetheart.” She crooned softly, reaching forward with shaking hands to caress and comfort you. 

“Stop right there, witch! Don’t you hurt that child!” Your mother froze, looking over you as she saw a young meister. No doubt it was a meister, and she was sure the short sword held in the young man’s hand was his weapon. “You disgust me-- Not being able to find better prey than a child. I’m going to run this blade through your chest.” He snarled, rushing forward. Your mother’s eyes widened, and you were about to voice your concerns, but it was too late it seemed. 

The meister hadn’t struck her through the chest, though. He’d jumped over you, clearing it easily, and had flipped backwards in the air. Mama seemed to have no time to react, the sword embedding itself straight into her forehead. She jerked back with the motion, mouth wide in a motionless cry as she reached towards you. Before she could even hit the ground, she choked out, and her eyes just managed to catch yours. 

You looked away. You shut your eyes tight, and there was a noise, followed by a startled cry and the clank of metal against brick. Slowly looking over, once again, you saw a lone, purple soul hovering in the air. To the side, you saw the boy on the ground, a hand spread over his pale face. His weapon glowed, then returned to a human, crouching by him. 

“Yo, what’s the matter?” The weapon frowned, his dark skin clashing with the pale of the other boy’s as he reached forward. 

“I-- I can’t see.” The meister choked out. You didn’t stick around to see what happen as you got up and ran. You didn’t bother to stop as you heard them call. You only stopped as you tripped and fell, and you didn’t bother to get back up. You let out a loud, hoarse scream, and when it died away, so did your consciousness. 

After that incident, things just weren’t the same. It had all been a big misunderstanding. The boys’ had felt the witch’s presence in the area, and saw the situation as you being attacked. The meister couldn’t fight anymore. He had been blinded by Mama’s Dying Light, or so you had heard. It was rare when Mama attacked, but whenever she did, you always had to look away, or close your eyes. 

Lord Death had taken you into his care. Kid was happy that you were staying over for ‘a while’ as Death himself had put it, but his excitement did not last. He saw your broken down, lifeless state. The gleam no longer shone in your eyes. It was only a couple months later you had returned to your old self. 

When you were five, nearly six, it had been decided you would now live under the custody of your Auntie. She couldn’t afford to keep you and Justin afloat when your mother had died. She was still barely making ends, but Lord Death had promised to help her out. He thought it would be better if you lived with your own kin, however, so that was why you were placed under her care. 

By the time Justin had discovered he truly was a weapon, you were seven. He was ten. He had enrolled in the academy as one of the youngest patrons. It got lonely after he did-- You’d be home alone most of the day. You’d barely even talk to Kid anymore; He was apparently busy with reaper stuff. It surprised you when he came over today to ask you to play. You’d accepted, and you both went to the nearby park. 

The walk was quick, the park being only down the street, and you’d both stopped to idly swing on the swingset. It was slow, quiet swinging, only soft creeks from the set resounding in the open air. At first, the two of you said nothing, looking at your own feet alike. 

“Um… How’s Juno?” You finally asked, voice quiet. Kid had gotten a black and white dog, which he had named Juno. 

“He’s good. I would’ve brought him, but he’s kinda big and likes to lunge a lot.” He informed, not looking up at you, but still stared at his shoes. 

“Oh.” Was your only response. You remember playing with Kid all the time, and how energetic he was, always smiling with bright, golden eyes. Now, though, he always had a blank, uninterested expression on his face. You weren’t sure why he changed, and how he did in so little years. Maybe his reaper stuff was more pressuring than you first thought. “So… Um… Justin is going to that school now. The one with the weapons ‘n stuff.” You tried. 

“I heard. My dad said he doesn’t need a meister.” Kid responded, now looking mildly interested as he lifted his gaze up from his feet. You, on the other hand, looked at him in confusion, brows furrowed. 

“A what?”

“A meister.”

“Oh.” You didn’t know what that was. You were almost afraid to ask him. What if he thought even lower of you? He seemed to think like that of you already; He wouldn’t meet your eyes, would hardly glance your way… You weren’t gonna lie when you said it hurt. Kid was your best friend, and one of your only friends, if you were going to be honest. Ever since your soul started to look more like, well, a witch’s soul, you hadn’t been very popular with other children. You knew they couldn’t read it, and their parents couldn’t either, but news had spread no doubt from the people that could read them. Even if you were friendly, and young without any real knowledge of how to use your abilities, people didn’t trust easily. 

You couldn’t really blame them, at the same time. 

“Are you going to go to the DWMA when you get older?” Kid suddenly asked. You looked back at him, and this time, he was actually looking at you-- Disinterested, per usual, however. 

“I don’t think so. I can’t transform into a weapon.” You responded, a little flatly. You knew people who had those special abilities went to that school, probably to learn how to use them. 

“Well, you could probably be a meister.” Kid responded, and your face heated up slightly. You looked away. 

“U-um… What’s a meister?” You finally asked. You expected some harsh rebuttal from Kid about how stupid you were, but he just responded calmly. 

“A meister wields the weapon. They team up with someone who can become a weapon, and uses them. It’s a team effort.” He explained while you looked back over at him. 

“Oh… I see… Are you gonna be a meister?” She asked. She knew he didn’t have to be, since he was a reaper, but he might want to attend after all. 

“Well, I want weapons, but I’m not going to go to school.” He answered, looking back up at the sky. 

“I see.” Another short answer from you as you looked up also. 

It was mostly quiet the rest of the time. There didn’t seem to be much to say. You were the first to get off the swing, saying you had to get home, and proceeded to run back, not waiting for Kid’s response. 

It was only a couple months later that Rachel wanted to move to Europe. Justin still wanted to study at the academy, so boarding arrangements were made for him to stay here. You were surprised Auntie Rachel would leave her son, but she didn’t have very good work here, and was offered a huge deal breaker over in Europe, so that’s where she decided to go. 

That was the last time you saw Justin for years. 

You had a feeling that was the last time you’d see Kid.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey kiddos, chapter two is up. Really friggin' long but I expected it... Uh, I think this story will end up being four chapters, actually, and maybe even five. I'm following the manga plot for it all, but I still have the tainted souls as red so we all know the difference. Uhm... yeah... feedback is much appreciated and I hope y'all enjoy

You could never grow accustomed to these European channels. You’d lived here for years but they were still just… So different from what you were used to. The dry humor didn’t appease your taste. It didn’t matter when you were young, and just watched any colorful show, but your taste changes when you grow. 

Boring. That was every show here. 

You were saved by the door as it was knocked on. “Coming!” You yelled, pushing yourself up off the couch and sauntered over to the door, yanking it open. Justin stood there, holding out a bag of Chinese food that you’d requested, offering a smile. “Ooh, finally, I’m starving!” You grinned, taking the bag, and pulling him in. You shut the door with a foot, walking over to the couch and settling down with your legs crossed. You searched through the bag for your specific order, not stopping as Justin spoke your name. “Mm?” You asked, tilting your head as he came around the couch, sitting beside you. He said your name again, and you looked at him. “What?” You repeated, a little irritable that he didn’t hear, but you realized he had his headphones in. You reached over, plucking them out. He didn’t stop you, but merely blinked. 

“I need to talk to you about something.” He said, watching as you turned back to the bag and grabbed your box, popping it open. 

“I’m listening.” You responded, taking your utensils to dig in. Justin spoke while you were eating. 

“I’ve been called back to Death City. Lord Death needs me there for work, and he would like if you enrolled in the school as a meister.” He informed. Despite saying you were listening, you were more focused on eating, and the boring show that was on. 

“Lord who?” You asked absentmindedly, bringing up another bite of food as you swallowed your previous one. Justin reached over, gently pushing your hand down, and you looked at him in confusion. His face was grim. You could tell. Slowly, you set the food on your lap, and turned off the television. 

“Lord Death. Our Lord. The founder of the DWMA.”

“The what?”

“The Death Weapon Meister Academy.”

“Wasn’t that the school you went to?”

“Yes; And the one I was made a death scythe at. And the reason why I’m here in Europe, and not still in the United States.”

“Okay. Why does he want you to come back, then?”

“A Kishin has been revived. He wants me there to help in the effort to stop it.”

“A Kishin? Aren’t they, like, all around, though? The things the students fight?” You asked, taking another bite of your food. 

“Those are souls who are on their way to becoming Kishins-- Not an actual one.” He informed, finally reaching over to grab his own food, opening it up. 

“Mkay. So why do I gotta go?”

“He believes that everyone should help in the effort. He knows you’re a witch, and he’s sure you could double as a meister and help out.” He started, popping open his box of food and grabbed some chopsticks. “He says something about even having a weapon for you there already.” He said a quick prayer, then took a bite of his chicken, and realizing how hungry he was, took a few more pieces quite quickly. 

“Uh huh. And you’re fine with this? Aunt Rachel is too?” You narrowed your eyes slightly, snorting as he nodded while eating. “Wow. Just because I’m a witch doesn’t mean I’m super powerful or anything.” You huffed, turning away to eat as well. 

He didn’t respond. Neither of you did. You finished your meals first, and once you were full, you sat back with a content sigh, feeling much less crabby. “Mm, so good.” You sighed out, and Justin agreed silently, sitting back as well with a stretch of his arms, laying one on the back of the couch and the other toyed with his skull-bud.

“So, will you come?”

“What?”

“To Nevada. And enroll in the DWMA.”

“Mm… I guess. Got nothin’ better to do here.” You stretched, and he smiled at this, placing one of the buds back in his ears. 

“Alright. We leave early tomorrow, so pack up.”

You were never really a morning person, you had to admit. So, when you got just outside the city, you weren’t really in the mood to listen to Justin’s preaching. He crouched, his fingers touching the ground as he reminisced on the times. He then stood, clutching onto the pendant around his neck, as he looked down. “Oh, my good Lord, my God… Give unto people comfortable lives and deaths.” He then crouched down _again_. “My Lord, my good Lord--” You promptly cut him off, pushing him over by planting your boot on his rear, and he fell flat to the ground, blinking, headphones popping out. 

“Come _on_ , Justin, I’m dying out in this heat.” You droned, placing a hand over your forehead dramatically. The young death scythe mumbled to himself, placing his ear buds back in, brushing himself off as he stood, and lead the way. As you went through the town, you did your best to remember what it had been like before, when you used to live here. You didn’t recall too much-- Save, you’d only been gone for seven or so years, but everything was still a bit fuzzy. “Can I go find my apartment?” You asked, looking up at Justin. He didn’t hear you, humming as he walked along with a spring in his step. “Hey.” You flicked the side of his head, and he blinked, looking down at you. 

“Oh, sorry. What?” He asked. 

“Can I go find my apartment?”

“Not right now. You need to talk to our Lord and meet your weapon.” He responded, and you couldn’t get anything else out, for he had looked back ahead. With a sigh, and shoulders slump, you remained quiet for the rest of the walk. 

The hardest part of this whole trip(so far) was climbing the damn stairs up to the top of the school. You were only about half way through when you slowed, panting, hunching over, hands on your knees. “I-- I can’t.” You whined out. Justin had sensed you were not beside him and stopped, peering back at you curiously. You looked up at him, swallowing. “Go on without me.” You moaned, dramatically collapsing. You heard footsteps and a chuckle, followed by your own yelp as Justin hauled you up by an arm, patting you on the back with a smile. 

“There! All better. We’re almost there.” He informed, taking your wrist and practically dragging you up the final flight. It was an even longer walk to the Death Room, and the guillotine arches were somewhat familiar… As if you had seen them before. Walking into the spacious looking room, there stood a black figure with a goofy looking mask. It was all so familiar, this… Thing before you. You swore you’d seen it before…

“Heya! Hello, welcome!” It-- he-- greeted, taking out a large, white hand, and waved. You suddenly realized that yes, this must be Lord Death, and yes, his face was all over his damn school, and also that you must have known him in your youth, for he certainly knew about you. He spoke your name, and you blinked away from your thoughts. “My, you’ve grown up so much! You already have the shaping of a fine, young meister.”

“T-thank you, sir.” You responded, giving a small smile in response. He was about to speak again, but Justin had spoke first. 

“Oh, Lord!” Justin dropped down to his knees, spreading his arms wide. “Why do you refuse to grace me with your words? Oh, woe is me, surely… I cannot hear the voice of our Lord…” He looked distraught, and sounded it too, even as Lord Death tilted slightly to the side, a comical sweat drop appearing. 

“No, it’s… It’s not that…” He tried, and you groaned. You were about to tell him to take out the ear buds, but you gasped as a foot suddenly came from behind, knocking him flat on his chest. He looked over in confusion, and you did too, only to see a man with red hair and a foot raised pointing at his ears. 

“Take out the buds.” He ground out through gritted teeth and an irritable expression. 

“Huh?” Justin echoed, and you bent down, plucking one out. “Oh.” He took the other one out, standing back up swiftly. “It’s been a long time. I, Justin, am at your disposal.” He introduced again with a smile. You looked over, shoulders hunching slightly as your backed up, three other people following in. Lord Death said your name again, and you looked at him. 

“My son will greet you out front, and will get you established around the city. You will met your weapon tomorrow. You can go now.” He informed, and you bowed slightly, turning and walking out of the room. It was quite a maze to get back to the front of the school, but alas, upon reaching it, you did see someone waiting outside. A boy with black hair, and three white stripes, only on one side of his head. He sported a pair of blue jeans and black shoes, a black over shirt to follow it with a red shirt underneath. You were relieved to know that the son of a Shinigami dressed like anyone else, and, well, mostly looked like anyone else… Save for those eyes of his. Beautiful, golden… You couldn’t help but be a little envious. 

He was familiar though, too. It’s been so long… You’ve surely met him before, though, it was just nagging in the back of your mind. As you stopped in front of him, neither of you said anything. It was almost as if he was thinking the same of you-- Scrutinizing you with somewhat squinted eyes, looking you up and down with that calculating, yet uninterested, expression... “Mm… It’s nice to see you. I’m Death the Kid, but Kid works fine.” He introduced, holding out a hand. 

You introduced yourself, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. “So, uh… Lord Death said you’d be showing me around the city? Or something?” You asked as he turned, starting down the stairs. You followed him. 

“Something like that, but a little later I will. My apologies, but I promised a couple of friends a game of basketball. My father called me last minute to come get you, so I hope you don’t mind watching. I’m sure we even have room for you to join a team.” He informed you, and at first, you didn’t answer. Sure, you played basketball before, and were good enough at it, but it wasn’t something you’d particularly enjoy watching, or even playing. You didn’t want to sound rude, but… 

“Could we at least stop by my apartment? I wanna set my stuff down.” You commented, motioning to the bag you had slung over your shoulder. 

“Your apartment isn’t available yet, apparently. You’ll be staying tonight with us, and later tomorrow, it should be all ready.” He responded, and you held back a groan. Looks like there was no escaping for you. 

When you arrived at the courts, there was already five other people there. A blonde was on a bench, reading a book, while an albino and blunette were passing the ball back and forth. There was a girl with long, held up hair watching from the side, and another short-haired blonde swaying to and fro, humming to herself. “Everyone, this is the new student.” All heads looked over at you, and you meekly smiled in response, introducing yourself again. 

“Hey, cool! She will balance out the teams.” The boy with blue hair grinned, and you, once again, groaned internally at this. Joy… “You can even be the captain on our team.” He announced, and you raised a brow at this. 

“What’s the catch?” You squinted, and the albino was the one to respond. 

“The losing team’s captain has to be punished somehow.” Your jaw dropped slightly. Seriously!? Already!? You’d just gotten here!

“You-- you can’t be serious--” You started, but he spoke up again. 

“Don’t worry, we’re cool. We won’t give you anything bad; I mean, nothing like what we’re doing for Kid, that is.” He assured. 

“And what exactly is my ‘punishment’?” Kid inquired with a raised brow. 

“We’re gonna move all the paintings in your house by two centimeters.” The albino gave a sharp-toothed grin, stuffing his hands in his pockets as Kid nearly choked. 

“H-Hey, don’t be so rash, now!” He cried out, and the tall, short-haired blonde laughed, much to your confusion. 

“And if _our_ captain loses…” You startled as a hand was placed on your shoulder, looking back over at the blue haired boy. 

“BlackStar, be nice! You don’t even know her.” The tall, black haired girl fretted, and you sent her a silent thanks her way. 

“Tsubaki’s right.” There was the dirty blonde beside you, giving you a friendly smile. “Here, if you guys lose, I’ll take the punishment, alright? Not fair you’re punishing her.” She announced. BlackStar only grinned at this. 

“Sure! If Maka loses, she has to spend a whole day with her dad!” He announced, and her face instantly fell. 

“W-wait, I--”

“Nope! Go sit down, and pray for your team,” The albino insisted, pushing Maka away with protests of, ‘Wait, Soul, no!’ and the like. 

“Righto.” Soul and BlackStar faced each other. They handed the ball off, and the game had begun. 

When you’d started playing, everything about basketball came back to you. You had to admit, Kid was actually pretty good. So was Soul, and Patty surprisingly enough as well. BlackStar was quite the runner, and Tsubaki could block most of the shots. The game was a close call, but it eventually ended at 15-14: Your team had lost by one point. 

You groaned out, putting a hand on your head while BlackStar, Soul, and Patty all chanted about punishments. Kid just seemed relieved to win, and Tsubaki was trying to coax the others out of Maka being punished. You felt ever worse that you lost, since Maka was the one being punished, and not you. Looking over, you hadn’t realized that three others had come. It was the some of the same people in the Death Room-- The blonde, the man with the screw in his head, and the red haired man. Maka was asking the red-haired man, so you assumed that was her father. 

“I was thinking,” You looked at Kid as he spoke, “that tomorrow, I could host a party. To welcome you, here; Well, welcome back, at least. You were here before, afterall. You can get to know your weapon better then, as well.” He suggested. You were surprised he’d throw a party for you, and even more surprised when the others agreed.

“O-oh… Well, it’s not much my place to say… I mean, I’m fine with it, but it’s all up to you, really.” You said, and Kid smiled in response, tucking his hands in his pockets. 

“I offered, so I insist.” He assured, and you smiled a little more, a faint blush painting your cheeks. 

“Okay… That sounds fun, then.” You agreed, and the others cheered at the prospect of the party. 

The rest of the day had gone by fairly quick. You, Kid, and Patty had all stopped by a coffee shop to grab a drink. You’d learned that Patty was one of Kid’s weapons, his other being Patty’s sister, Liz, and they were twin pistols. The more you spoke with Kid, the more you grew to like him, and another nagging familiarity. Your mind was so fuzzy on it all, you didn’t know why you couldn’t remember-- You were sure you’ve met him before. You even remembered the day your mother, well…

“Why can’t I remember?” You mumbled to yourself, hands in your vest pockets as you stared up at the darkening sky. 

“Pardon?” Kid asked, and you blinked, looking at him. Both him and Patty were staring at you inquisitively. 

“O-Oh, sorry, nothing.” You gave a meek smile, waving it off, and continued on. His house was huge, and, once again, you suspected you had been here before. The inside had a familiarity that you couldn’t wrap your head around. “Nice place.” You complimented, “It’s very, uh, err…”

“Symmetrical?” Kid suggested, eyes flickering at the thought. 

“Uh… Yeah. Symmetrical is a good word.” You agreed, and he seemed to take pride on this, smiling. 

“You can make yourself comfortable wherever. I’ll be getting dinner started in a few moments.” He announced then, turning, but you called out to him first. 

“Do you want any help? It’s the least I can do.” You tried, but he simply shook his head. 

“No, thank you. You’re a guest, and this is a welcome back.” He insisted, flashing another smile. 

“Yeah. He wouldn’t want you in there with him anyways-- He has a set system on how everything works, and where it goes.” A new voice drawled, and you looked over as a lean, light brown-haired girl walked in. 

“Sis!” Patty glomped her, coming back out from the kitchen with a half-eaten slice of pizza in hand. 

“Patty, you’ll spoil your appetite if you eat right now!” Kid snapped, brow twitching, and Patty giggled out a ‘sorry!’. 

“Kid’s right.” Liz huffed out with a roll of her eyes, and the blonde merely shrugged again, chowing back down on her pizza. “I’ll take care of her.” Liz ensured Kid with a wave of her hand, giving a brief greeting to you before dragging Patty away, whom waved goodbye. Kid cleared his throat, calming himself. 

“Right, then. I’ll start on it.” He continued, then turned and strode towards the kitchen. You honestly hadn’t felt this awkward since… You couldn’t even remember when. Make yourself comfortable? That couch looked like it was worth more than your house. This whole place was expensive. Slowly, though, you made your way over, sitting down and leaning back slowly. You sat, quietly, the only sound being Kid’s rummaging in the kitchen, and your heart beating more erratically than it should. 

Your eyes fell upon some framed photos, and you relaxed slightly. Standing, you walked over and picked up one from a shelf. It was a picture of Kid, dressed to the nines, it seemed, and he looked quite handsome. Setting it back down, you looked at the one on the shelf below him. This picture was of Liz, who was also dressed quite nicely. Adjacent from her was Patty in similar attire, and above Patty was Lord Death, how he normally looked. “Cute.” You smiled, looking below the television set, and saw a scrapbook. 

“Hello, here…” You murmured, taking it out. You walked back over to the sofa, sitting, and cracked the book open. There was instantly photos organized, and looked to be more recent. One was of Patty taking a selfie, with Liz trying to pluck her eyebrows in the background, and it looked like Kid was berating her for something. Another was of the three standing next to a large painting, and you noted how proud Kid looked, while the photo below showed the painting had become tilted. Kid looked crushed, Patty seemed like she was laughing, and Liz looked exasperated. 

“Someone has OCD.” You chuckled quietly, flipping through some more. The more you went, the younger Kid looked to be getting. Liz and Patty were eventually in none of the pictures, and it was either just Kid by himself, or him with his father. You got near the end of the book, and saw some a young Kid with a young girl. She had a round, young, smiling face, sparkling eyes, and shining hair. You didn’t pay much of a mind to her, but as you flipped to the last page, you stopped. 

The woman in the photo… Kid was on one of her knees, and the girl was on the other. The girl had her arms around the woman’s neck, and Kid had his hands up in the air, but both children were laughing. The woman, though… Such a tender, genuine smile tugged across her lips, her hair brushed to the side, cascading over her shoulder. But what got to you the most was her eyes-- Such a soft, gentle brown that reminded you of doe, and of your Mama. 

You inhaled sharply. 

Flipping back through those last few photos, you noticed the girl had the same color hair and eyes as you, would go to the same park you just barely remember going to, and--

“Hello?” 

You gasped, standing and knocking the book off your lap as you turned around. Kid was behind the couch, blinking in surprise at your actions. “I’m… Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to know if you had any serious allergies.” He explained. You didn’t answer his question. 

“We were… Best friends.” You whispered, your voice tight as you swallowed. Kid opened his mouth, only to close it. Finally, he spoke. 

“Yes… I remember. It didn’t seem you did, though, so I didn’t bother to mention it.” His lips were set in a grim line, and your shoulders drooped slightly. 

“I… I don’t know why I didn’t… Gee, I-I’m sorry… There was just… So much going on in Europe, and I just…” You didn’t know what to say. You felt awful that Kid remembered, but you didn’t. You knew that you had known him! Why had the details been so awfully fuzzy?

“It’s alright. It was quite awhile ago, and I feel as if it was partially my fault.” He coughed, eyes averting slightly. “Not too soon before you left, I was focusing on my reaper progress, and neglected to talk to you a lot. I’m not surprised you forgot.” He admitted. 

“But you didn’t.” You replied in a hushed voice, your own eyes looking at the ground. 

“I’m a reaper. My memory is superior.” He simply insisted, and you relaxed slightly at this. You still felt bad, though-- Kid had been a big part of your life, you were sure. 

“I’m still sorry.” You finished, looking back up at him. His face was mostly unreadable, per usual, but he gave a small smile. 

“All is forgiven. I still need to know, though: Do you have any serious allergens?”

The night had went on without any other ill thoughts. The food was good, and soon enough, you had gotten changed and went to bed. You woke up the next morning in a scramble for school, only to realize it was Saturday, and you assumed that classes wouldn’t be going on during weekends. When Kid knocked on your door, however, and announced his presence, you panicked; Maybe classes _did_ go on weekends. He only said, though, that you’d be meeting your weapon in an hour. 

You’d finished getting ready, heading out with Kid to a somewhat open part of town, not many buildings by. It was still hot as hell, and calling this place ‘Death City’ was almost an understatement, you thought. You wore a light shirt and shorts, but it still didn’t do much justice to cool you off. You were the only two there, but soon enough, there came a young man, probably a year or two older than yourself. 

He was tall, lean, but probably well built under the buckled jacket he wore. It was open, revealing him in a plain black shirt, with a skull pendant necklace. His legs were covered in dark blue jeans, and white converse. He seemed a little mismatched, but it accented him well. He had a mop of dark hair, with some of the prettiest light blue eyes you’d ever seen behind his dark-rimmed spectacles. You had no idea where Lord Death had found him, but his soul seemed to give off… Something unique. 

“This is Jinx Tsunaski.” Kid introduced, and he introduced you to Jinx as well. 

“Hello there. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jinx responded with a smile. He seemed nice enough, and had a firm handshake when you shook hands. 

“Pleasure’s all mine. What can you turn into?” You cut straight to the chase, for the question had been bouncing around in your head as soon as you saw him. He chuckled, noticing this. 

“Good question. I actually cover most basic techniques.” He admitted a little meekly, rubbing his neck with a sheepish grin. 

“Seriously? I wanna see.” You grinned wide. He sounded intricate, and you liked it already. 

“Well, alright-- Have you ever handled a weapon before?”

“Nope!”

“Please don’t get hurt, then.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, in a glow of pale blue and black spun light, he transformed, launching into the air. You reached up, catching him carefully, and noticed he was a sword. The hilt and handle was a dusky blue, while the blade was black. It seemed mis colored, like it should be the opposite-- Almost like his own clothing. 

“Wow. You’re beautiful.” You breathed, swishing him around slightly with no problem at all. Your souls seemed to match up quite well.

“Heh, well… Thank you.” His face appeared on the blade, a blush dusting his cheeks. “Are you ready to see another form?”

“There really is more?” You gaped, and he only smiled, glowing again briefly. Soon, your dominant hand was covered by a glove, with a blade on the outer end. 

“This is for basic melee, if you need it. Or assassination works well too, I guess.” He chortled, and even Kid seemed amused as you swiped your hand around. 

“Do another!” You bounced on your toes slightly, and he glowed again, and in your hand was a flail, the spiked ball on the other end of the chain quite large, but you swung it around with ease. “Cool! This is like, medium range, I guess?” You asked. 

“Something like that. Sword can be used for that too, though. I have one more form to show you.”

“Another?” You blanched, watching as he transformed into a long, slim, elegant bow, with curves at the ends. “Long range.” You breathed out, running your hand over it. 

“It’s a bit difficult to understand how to use this, but I’ll teach you.” He assured. 

“How do you have so many different forms? I’ve never seen anything like this.” You admitted, utterly surprised. 

“I… Was supposed to have three other siblings. Apparently when I was still in the womb, I accidentally consumed their souls into my own, and I inherited their weapons.” He sounded quiet as he said this. You let out a noise of surprise, but understanding. It wasn’t too surprising-- You’d heard of bigger fetuses absorbing the smaller ones. This must have just been the same thing. 

“Amazing… I-I mean, that all this was inherited. Gee, I sure am a lucky meister.” You laughed quietly, letting go as he glowed again, and was soon standing in front of you. 

“Everything seems to work out fine, then?” Kid asked with a smile. Jinx and yourself exchanged looks, then grinned, nodding at Kid’s question. “Excellent. I’ll inform my father that this pairing is acceptable. As for today, you both have the time to get to know each other, and I’ll be showing you to your apartment.” This seemed like a good deal to you both. 

The apartment was a good size, and you liked the view-- You were able to clearly see the school from there. Throughout the day, you got to know Jinx better. His parents weren’t particularly bitter towards him for what happened against, against his will, mind all, but the older he got, the more cold they became. He wasn’t bitter towards them, either; He didn’t blame himself. He blamed nobody, as he should. Not even when his parents shipped him off at the age of twelve to practice his weaponry skills. He’d learn to harness all that he could, and now, at seventeen, he was here, at the school, paired up with a fifteen year old. It didn’t make him uncomfortable. He didn’t mind it. He so far enjoyed your company, and you his.

He was in awe to discover that a Death Scythe was actually your cousin. He wanted to meet Justin, and you promised that you’d introduce him when you could. The time for the party was arriving. You both were actually on the way to Kid’s house at the time. You’d changed into a light, flowy dress that only came to about your knees, with a ribbon in your hair. Jinx had a casual, short sleeved dress shirt with some dark jeans. He seemed pretty thrilled about the party, and you weren’t gonna lie: You were nervous. 

You were the one to knock. When the door opened, Liz greeted you with a smile. “On time, I see. Kid will be pleased to see someone showed up at his exact time.” She chuckled. 

“See seemed pretty OCD on it, so I made sure we’d be here when he said.” You admitted, walking in with Jinx following after you. 

“Heeyyy guys!” Patty greeted enthusiastically, giving you both hugs as she finished setting out some snacks and the like. Kid came into the room when he heard the commotion and saw you both greeting Patty. After that finished, he walked over to you, as Jinx was talking to Liz now. 

“I’m glad to see your timing is punctual. You’re looking nice tonight.” Kid complimented you. In return, you gave a shy smile, unused to such words, even if they were simple. 

“Thanks. You’re lookin’ good, too.” You admitted. Apparently at school, he wore a full on suit, but you hadn’t seen such yet, so the casual dress shirt and pants he wore were the nicest things on him so far. He smiled a little more at this, and you were glad the light red on his cheeks mirrored your own. 

“I, uh, hope you don’t mind, but I also invited your cousin as well. Jinx said he wanted to meet him, and I figured this would also be a welcome for him.” He prompted, and you grinned. 

“No problem at all! I’m surprised he accepted, honestly. He’s usually kinda shy when it comes to parties,” You laughed a little, remembering stories from when he would just sit and shy away from others at social events like such. Kid chuckled quietly at this, and then for a moment, didn’t say anything. 

“You… Probably don’t know this, but I’m really glad to have you back. And I mean that.” You were surprised to hear how serious he sounded. You didn’t say anything as he went on. “I know you’ve only been here for two days, but I can already tell why you were one of my good friends-- Even if we were rather young. I hope we can rekindle our friendship, and have it grow into something more as we age.” He smiled. A genuine smile, so nice to see on usually such a stoic face. Your cheeks had dusted an even brighter red at this. Of course you wanted to rekindle your friendship-- What did he mean to have it grow, though? Into a more in depth relationship that you couldn’t have had when you were younger, or into something even… more?

“The star is here!” There was a loud crash, and a worried call of ‘BlackStar!!’.

When you looked over, you saw Soul, Maka, Tsubaki and BlackStar had arrived, although the bluenette was standing atop one of the tables. He laughed loudly, hands on his hips, and you could just feel the storm cloud settle over Kid’s head. You knew BlackStar was in for it as Kid stormed over, ready to berate him. 

As the party went on, Justin eventually did show up. You honestly expected him to show in his normal gear to a party with DWMA students, but he actually wore casual clothes. A white jacket and navy blue shirt with some blue jeans and sneakers-- It was weird to see. He had his earbuds, which was no surprise, but he still seemed quite friendly and enthusiastic as he greeted everyone. 

The party had went by quite well by the time it was over. You either kept to yourself, or with Kid. You’d be with Justin too, but he’d mostly be talking to either Maka or Jinx, so you felt awkward hovering. The more you were with Kid, the more you remembered about when you two played together. The more those feelings started to kindle again, and the more you felt others begin to ignite. 

It was a foreign feeling, one you had only felt once before one year at school for some boy named Maximillion. It had lasted for the whole year, but after that, it vanished. He hardly noticed you, but you sure noticed him. What were you feeling towards Kid? Admiration? Well, no, you didn’t think so… When you’d felt that way towards Max, you had wanted to be near him as much as possible. You’d wanted to hang out, to sit with him, hold his hand, hug him, kiss him… 

Oh, no. You couldn’t be seriously falling for your best friend, could you? That’s what it was, right? You liked him? So soon? And at first you thought to yourself, maybe you had a chance. Maybe since you were older, he’d view you differently-- Not necessarily as _just_ a best friend, but also much more. 

But then you thought again, as you watched him laugh and talk with the others, that he was probably rather well known and popular throughout the school. You didn’t have a chance, you decided, so you shouldn’t get your hopes up. 

\--

Training was an immediate thing. With a Kishin revived, and able to strike at any time, there was no telling when it would first happen. Your first day of training had been more difficult than you bargained for. You’d wanted to use the sword first, but Jinx had insisted on using the bow. When you’d held it again, you came to realize that there was no quiver, no arrows, and even more surprising of all: No string. No string, not notch point, nothing. You were flabbergasted on how to use such a weapon. Jinx said that the arrows would be your own wave lengths compressed and shot out, and that a string would come as such as well when you shot-- Similar to how Kid’s pistols’ worked. 

At first, nothing had happened. You’d held the grip correctly, kept pulling back over and over again, but nothing appeared. You’d nearly given up at that point. 

“Don’t act like you’re shooting at a target-- Act like there’s an actual threat. Literally put your soul and body into it.” He explained quietly as you leaned against a tree, defeated. 

“But there is no threat… I’m not good at pretending…” You muttered, shoulders sunk slightly as you traced your fingers aimlessly across the smooth surface. 

“I know you can do this-- Can do better than this. I didn’t pin you as someone to give up so quickly, and I sure hope I’m wrong.”

“You are.” 

“Then prove it.”

You drew yourself up, slowly, and exhaled. You brought the bow back up to a proper position, looking at the target. You couldn’t think of a crisis that had happened really--

All except one. You flinched, eyes narrowing slightly as the scene replayed in your head. But this time, it wasn’t you who was on the ground-- It was your mother. 

You’d run over, taking Jinx as a bow, and lifted him up. You’d pulled back, and as you actually pulled back, you felt resistance. Felt a tingle between your fingers. You scarcely breathed as your concentrated, and then…

You released. 

In a flash of blue, an arrow shot forward, burning into the target across from you. It wasn’t directly in the center, but it had hit, and you grinned. 

“I knew you could do it.” Jinx chuckled, and you had to thank him for encouraging you. 

Training went on as the weeks did. Some kid named Crona, who was apparently a demon sword of sorts, was put on a trial to join the school. Not soon after it was discovered that a witch, Arachne, had been revived. More intel had been discovered on her and her lair, although granted, it wasn’t a whole lot. 

You hadn’t had a real mission yet, really. All you’d been doing was sparring, and you even could use some of your witch ability, but it was minimal. What you truly had was not yet to be discovered, but it all seemed to come naturally to you, fighting included. One day, though, Kid had invited you on a mission. 

It was during another party, but this one was for others just beyond your group. Kid and his weapons had suddenly disappeared, leaving you talking with Crona. He really did seem like a nice guy, but he was so shy it was hard to speak properly to him. That was when Kid had pulled you aside, though. “I need to go on an urgent mission and I would like you to come with.” He informed. You were startled. 

“But… Does your father know I’m coming?” You asked. 

“Sorta… I asked if you could join, since you hadn’t been on a mission yet. He didn’t exactly agree, but didn’t mind either.” He could tell you were about to protest, but he beat you to the punch. “It will be fine. I promise.” It was your first real mission-- You honestly couldn’t say no. 

“Okay.” You finally agreed, and after grabbing Jinx, you all changed. Soon enough, you had made your way to the Sahara Desert. It was hot as Hell, and you weren’t the only one affected by it. 

“It’s sooo damn hot!” Patty cried out, and you couldn’t of agreed more. 

“Fuck this weather, honestly…” You grumbled, although the others seemed fine. You even wore a cloak to stop the heat, but it was still getting to you. You swore it was worse.

“So, what’s the objective, here?” Jinx brought up, looking at Kid. 

“There is a train that runs on its own. A runaway train, if you will. We need to catch it, and retrieve a magic tool.” He explained, moving his mask away to reveal his face, glancing over as Patty screamed out about the heat again. 

“Why’re you even covered up? You’re a shinigami, you shouldn’t burn.” Liz scoffed out. 

“To set the mood, I guess. My body really can’t be touched by poison.” He admitted as he started to climb a hill. “I can’t dye my stripes, either. My body expels it and they just show up again.”

“Sucks.” You muttered, all of you stopping as your crested the hill. “That a station?” You asked as you spotted one down below. 

“I believe so. Let’s hurry.” Kid said, sliding down the hill. He explained that the train arrived precisely on time every day, and he didn’t want to miss such a phenomenon. There was a child there as well, which you found quite… Odd. Kid greeted them, but they didn’t respond, which didn’t seem to go over very well with Patty. Liz had to drag her over to make a sand castle, leaving you, Kid, and Jinx standing on the station. 

“...Do you think that kid’s lost?” You muttered to the reaper next to you. He spared a sly glance over at the child, then glanced back at you. 

“I’m not sure. They don’t seem keen on responding, though.” He admitted, taking out a pocketwatch shortly after. “Dammit… If this train doesn’t hurry up, it won’t be on time.” He fretted, frowning as he looked over. 

“It’s not surprising if it is just a rumor-- Who would actually keep track of something like this?” Jinx commented, and Kid didn’t seem to appreciate his feedback very much, but some part of him thought that maybe your partner was right. Kid glanced at his watch again and sighed, pocketing it, disappointment etched on his face. 

“Well, it really was just a rumor.” He groaned. 

“Hate to say it, but… Doesn’t surprise me much either.” You admitted, looking over as the ground started to shake. Suddenly, a huge, winding train burst into the air, spraying an incredible amount of sand and dust as it stirred upward. “Holy shit!” You cried out as Kid and Jinx watched in awe, and you only backed up as it landed on the ground. A figure flew passed, hooking onto the back, and you saw a red-suited… Person. 

“Sorry, shinigami errand boy and co., but this train is mine!” They laughed, disappearing inside the train. Suddenly, you felt a daunting, powerful presence, and cringed in response. 

It had such a… Familiar feel, however. 

“A witch! That tourist wasn’t a tourist after all!” Kid cried out, and you saw the child from before fly into the air, speeding off. 

“Was that really a--” There was no more time to speak. You were sent flying, along with everyone else, as a bomb went off. The sand softened your landing, and you coughed, sitting up. 

“It’s getting away!” Kid growled, summoning Beelzebub and hopping on it. You jumped up instantly, looking down at your feet. You hadn’t perfected this art yet, but… Looking over, Kid had said your name and had landed beside you, holding out a hand. You blinked, surprised, but he urged you on. “I can hold two, but hurry!” You thought it was better this way, considering you hadn’t perfected your witchcraft yet, and grabbed his hand. 

“Jinx! Bow!” You called out, holding out your hand. He obliged, quickly transforming, and Kid sped forward, ordering the same of his weapons. Once they transformed, he took off. Startled, you wrapped an arm around his torso to hold on, the other gripping tightly onto Jinx. As he went faster, though, you found it harder to balance. It almost looked like Kid was having a tough time, too. “Nevermind; Gauntlet.” You said to Jinx, whom was soon morphed against your wrist and part of your hand and arm. You gripped onto Kid with both arms, resting your head against his shoulder as you looked up ahead. You were approaching the train. 

“Kid! Something approaching from three o'clock!” You heard Liz warn, and sure enough, a flare was being sent your way. Kid just barely swerved out of the way, but you could tell his handling wasn’t as good with you tugging along. _Shit… This is more dangerous than I thought… I shouldn’t have came…_ You thought miserably, looking up as little black specks were suddenly falling. 

“Bombs!” You cried out. Kid looked up sharply, pushing aside to avoid them. It was rickety, but now smoke covered the area, allowing you all to push in closer. 

“The train is going to turn right!” Liz cried, but it was too late. Kid was hit full force by it, and you cried out, letting go. 

“Shit!” Kid spat, and you coughed as you rolled, hitting the ground. 

“Son of a…” You growled, pushing yourself up. 

“Are you okay!?” Jinx asked worriedly. 

“Fine.” You answered briskly, focusing for a moment, and soon, you were hovering. Looking down, you saw it had worked; Your magic now swarmed around your feet, and soon, you were propelling yourself forward. You zoomed passed Kid as he came back to grab you, and you could see the look of surprise cross his face, but no more as you went ahead. You couldn’t let that train get away. Kid had soon caught up though, and was riding along the edge of the dune. 

“You had that option this whole time!?” He called out. He didn’t sound mad, really, just more exasperated. 

“Yeah! I was unsettled on using it, though, but desperate times!” You admitted, looking towards the train. You all were gaining on it once again, and looking back over at Kid, you saw Patty had transformed into a human and clung to Kid’s back. She had Liz aimed at the train, and started to shoot into the window with a wide grin on her face. “Bow.” You commanded to Jinx, and he transformed. Slowly, you drew your hand back, taking aim, but you found that it was a little too wobbly for your liking. Your hand was all over the place, and when you let go, it was an accident. The arrow went flying far above the train. “Aah, piss. Forget it.” You growled to Jinx, whom simply turned back into a gauntlet. 

You heard Patty cry out, and looked over in alarm, only to see Kid and her flip into the air. Had a bomb gone off? Kid landed with perfect precision, however, and seemed quite pleased. “Kid, you can’t be doing skateboard tricks at a time like this!” You heard Liz cry out, and you couldn’t believe your eyes. 

“You gotta be joking.” You deadpanned, and Jinx seemed to mirror your thoughts with a groan. 

“Liz, you fool, these hills are perfect! It would be an insult to the desert to not do a couple tricks!” Kid scolded, looking ahead. “Oh, look, another one! Get ready for a no-hander, Patty!” You sweatdropped, looking back at the train. Did you really have a thing for this guy?

“We don’t have time for this. I’m going in.” You said to Jinx, speeding over to the train despite his protests. When you neared, you tried to duck down to get inside the train. Your foot caught on one of the windows, however, and you had miscalculated. Instead, you tripped, crashing on top of the train. “Sword.” You ordered to Jinx through gritted teeth, holding out your hand as he formed, and you dug him into the metal, pulling yourself up. Looking across from you, you saw a dark, cloaked figure. You would’ve thought it was Kid, but you heard him screaming out as he performed ollies, so you knew better. “Who…?”

“Such a powerful soul… It has yet to be awakened…” The voice hissed out, almost unable to be heard over the roar of the train and the wind whipping around your face. 

“Me? What?” You called out in confusion, trying desperately to catch their soul wavelength, but you couldn’t. “If you’re here for the magic piece, you better back off.” You finally said, assuming that’s what they were mistaken with. You slowly stood, ripping out Jinx and pointing it at the person. The chuckled, low and whispy. They lifted their head slightly, and you caught the glimpse of smothering amber eyes. For a moment, they softened, and you swallowed. Those eyes… So much like… Hers… 

“Hey! Watch out!” You heard a growl, and blinked, looking over. Kid swooped over, both pistols in his hands as he rolled onto the train. 

“But--” You looked back towards the person. They were gone. 

“You can’t just stand around here, you’re a moving target!” Kid snapped, grabbing your shoulder and shaking out of your dazed state. 

“I-- I know. There was someone, and--”

“That someone was probably the witch!” He snapped, “Stop messing around and pay attention to your surroundings!” You were surprised at the anger in his voice, and his eyes matched it. You flinched in shock, pulling away from him, only to look over and see more bombs dropped. “Dammit!” He cried out. No other time to react, you dug Jinx into the top of the train, looking away to somewhat shield yourself from the blow. 

When the smoke cleared, you saw that you had some kind of… Force in front of you that had protected you. “Huh…” you muttered, looking down as Kid called your name from inside the caboose. You ripped Jinx out, jumping and hauling yourself in, looking around cautiously. 

“He must have gone ahead.” Kid informed, instantly striding to the door and kicking it open. He could see the assassin ahead on the other cart outside the door. Kid called out to him, and you had Jinx transform back into a bow, running up with Kid quickly. You stopped, flinching as you saw the witch zoom by, and the fisher assassin had jumped back onto your side of the train. 

“I can’t be stopped!” The assassin laughed, but it seized as you all stopped to take a moment and register the situation. The train had been unclipped, you all were falling back as the engine rushed forward. 

…

“Dammit! I jumped on the wrong train!” The fisher cried out, scratching at his head. Kid lifted Liz and Patty towards him. 

“This guy’s an idiot.” He muttered, his brow twitching, and the twins agreed. You sneered slightly, raising your bow to take aim at the man, but he lifted his gun. WIth a cry of ‘fisher!’, and another farewell, he had hooked himself onto the engine ahead, and zoomed up. “Liz! Patty!” Kid growled out, hurtling the sisters forward. They transformed, grabbing onto Fisher’s legs, and Kid jumped after. You hurled yourself out of the train, trying to use a boost of your foot magic, but nothing was happening. You cried out, and Kid looked back, seeing you falling. He reached out with a hand, and you swung Jinx forward, whom he grabbed onto the end of, and you all were lurched forward as the train behind you exploded. 

It was a crash landing into the upper cars, and you tumbled in a heap. Jinx called your name, but you told him to stay put in his bow form. You looked ahead, and saw the assassin was readying himself to attack. “The demon tool is mine!” He hissed, and fired off a blast. You gaped, ducking quickly behind the seats. You looked across towards Kid, who looked just as frustrated as you felt. 

“The bastard.” He hissed, and you looked down at Jinx. 

“Hey. Let’s do it.”

“N-now!? In here!?”

“Yes! We can finish him off!”

“...Okay.” 

You let out a breath, gripping tightly onto Jinx as you closed your eyes and looked down. “Soul Resonance.” You whispered, Jinx echoing you as you felt a sudden spike in power, a new surge flow through you. Kid had felt it, too, looking at you with wide eyes. It seemed Fisher had also recognized it, for he’d stopped firing. Suddenly, you rolled out into the middle of the hall, standing and raising the bow, pulling back on it. An arrow appeared, and then probably tripled in size, and Jinx had grown bigger as well. The tip of the arrow had flared out slightly into longer fingers, and it looked to almost bloom, bloom like a tender flower anywhere else on this planet. 

“Blooming Vale.” You mumbled, pulling back a little more as you were about to release. 

“No!” Kid suddenly cried out, jumping and pushing to offbalance you. It worked, and you gasped, releasing the powerful wave accidentally. It shot forward, but three pink lines from above the train suddenly cut through and intercepted the attack, resulting in an explosion. You and Kid were sent flying back, Kid hitting the wall while you were thrown out of the cart. A hand suddenly caught your wrist, and you looked to see Jinx holding onto the door, grabbing onto your wrist with a worried expression. He hauled you back in, and you instantly grabbed a hold of him, burying your fists into the cloak and your head into his chest. He was surprised to feel you trembling, and wrapped his arms back around you. You both paid no mind to the sound of footsteps, followed by two gunshots. 

Yes, you were trembling. You originally had been at that close encounter of almost falling out of the train, and from the surge of power dying down as you returned to normal. But now, you were trembling from anger. You were furious at the events that had played out over the course of this mission, and you knew just who to direct your anger towards. At first, you did nothing, just gripping tighter onto Jinx as the train slowed to a stop. You refused to let your anger get the best of you-- That had gotten you nowhere. Ever. 

You let go of Jinx slowly, still faintly shaking as you curled your hands into fists and looked at the ground. You turned without a word, walking into the engine room. Kid was hunched over something at the engine of the train, and you saw the assassin laughing. Why was he still alive? You snapped, and Jinx turned into a sword. Without another word, you swiftly decapitated the fisher, and he disappeared, only a floating soul left in his wake. 

“Why did you kill him!?” You looked over. Kid was standing, glaring at you with a distressed anger written all over his face. 

“What do you mean?” You asked flatly, you blood starting to boil again as he addressed you in such a way. 

“He was providing valuable information! And now, because of your carelessness, I will never know the truth!” He snapped, and you did as well. 

“ _My_ carelessness?” You snarled, dropping Jinx to stride up right in front of Kid. “If you weren’t such a prude asshole, this stupid mission would’ve been done long ago!” You pushed him back with two hands, not missing the shocked expression crossing his face, which was soon masked again. 

“Excuse me?” Was all he responded, voice cold and eyes like chipped flint. 

“You heard me, you piece of reaper scum. “ You sneered, also not missing the look of hurt to cross his face. “Back on top of the train, when you told me to pay more attention even though I was doing _just_ fine on my own while you were out there doing kickflips,” You started, “And now, you have the audacity to call me careless when you pushed me out of the way during my Soul Resonance? And I _missed completely_?? We would’ve been finished there, finished long ago if you didn’t keep letting your stupid impulses get to you.” You poked him in the chest every couple or so statements, and he had been silent the entire time. “What the hell is with you!? Why did you even ask me to come when you’re just going to steal all of the glory and pull this shit off on your own?” At first, he said nothing. He had shifted his head to look down, his bangs sweeping in front of his eyes to shadow them. 

“I… Wanted to track your progress. I wanted to see how you did. Clearly, you weren’t advanced enough for this.” He responded in a chilling voice, looking back up at you with emotionless eyes. Your eyes widened, fists clenching. “I think my father was wrong about you. I don’t think you have the stability to make a good meister _at all_.” You flinched at his words, searching his eyes for some hope of remorse in his gaze-- In his words. You found nothing but stone cold gold, though, and your own eyes narrowed in return.

"You don't know anything!" You snapped, suddenly throwing a punch. You hit him square in the jaw, and he stumbled back faintly, looking away. You saw blood drip down, and you brought another fist back. You were held back suddenly by Jinx, whom wrapped his arms around your torso and pulled you back. You snarled, trying to claw and escape his grasp. "You and your stupid OCD are going to get you killed! And then you can rot in asymmetrical reaper Hell while I laugh at you! And I'll be prancing around, slaughtering witches and making dozens of death scythes and when I die I'll join you and shove it in your stupid pretty boy face!" He visibly flinched, but didn't look over.

"H-Hey, that's enough!" Jinx dragged you back, talking quietly to calm you down. Finally, you relaxed, and pulled yourself out of your weapon's grasp. You didn't say anything-- You were trembling again, and was afraid you'd break down if you spoke again. You turned, seeing Sid at the side of the train, quiet.

"Uh... Good job, you all... You can head back to camp and grab some refreshments." He informed, and you didn't answer, brushing past him and hopping out into the sand. You pulled your hood over your head despite the cooling desert air, and strode forward. Jinx had scrambled out after you, following quietly. Your fist was aching from where you had socked Kid, and your heart was aching from the adrenaline of the argument and the words exchanged. You'd been so harsh as you poured your emotions out; You really hadn't meant any of it. You'd just been so furious, so angry that Kid hadn't seemed to let you do any of the mission. 

You recalled him saying that you weren't cut out to be a meister, and flinched again. You swallowed, tears threatening the bottom of your eyes, and you pressed your hand heel to them to prevent them. Jinx saw this action, but thought it was best to leave you, afraid to upset you even more, and looked back ahead. 

The days that followed weren’t really any better. Justin had to leave Death City to travel around the world as ‘legs for the project’, so that just left you with Jinx, really. You hadn’t talked to the others much, and had barely spared a glance at Kid. 

You'd heard about an upcoming mission to recover another magic tool. Brew, or something of the like. You wanted to go, but knew you wouldn't get chosen-- Only the top meisters would be on the retreat. You could just focus on training, and hopefully come on the next important capture or mission; Taking a completely separate mission wouldn't be bad, either.

And so, you decided to take one. It was disappointing; You weren't going to lie. It had been a quick, easy task of recovering a soul, and along the way you had even nabbed two more. The last one was challenging-- Well, more challenging than the other two. Nothing that had eased your mood or sate for fighting. It seemed you couldn’t settle for small, now… Ever since the train mission with Kid, you’d wanted bigger missions to prove yourself. 

Who did you want to prove yourself to, though? Yourself? Your mother? Jinx? Justin?...

Kid?

The name was bitter on your tongue. Why had you thought of him? That’s the reason you were on one of the highest school balconies; To escape your ridiculing thoughts of him. Your chest ached at the thought of you both not talking to each other, but it throbbed even more at the thought of what he had said to you. 

You hadn’t been any better with your insults, though. 

“Stupid Kid. Just because he’s a reaper. Thinks he’s better.” You muttered grumpily, sitting on the edge of the balcony rail as you watched the dying light of the sun fade, casting streaks of orange and red that actually were quite pretty. “...Or maybe it’s because I’m part witch.” You said the last words in a hushed tone, eyes dragging over to see a bird on the rail too. It blinked, cocking its head to look at you, and you just stared back dully. It heard a noise, its head snapping over, before taking off, a single feather falling to flutter down onto the balcony floor. “Hmph.” You looked back ahead. 

You were surprised to hear your name, and even more surprised to see whom came to stand by your side. Kid leaned against the rail, staring out into the sunset, and didn’t say a word. The two of you sat in a silence that was surprisingly comfortable. “Nature can produce quite the display, can’t it?” Kid said, lifting his head to greet the breeze that swept by, disturbing his and your hair alike. You didn’t answer him. Out of the corner of your eyes, you could see he was a little off put by this. The nerve of him. “My… Father was pleased with your latest mission. He said you’re shaping up to become quite an impressive meister.”

“Are you sure about that?” You responded coldly. “Last I checked, someone said that I didn’t have the stability to make a good meister at all.” You could hear Kid shift, and soon he was sitting next to you. 

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said--”

“You didn’t seem sorry when you said it.”

“Of course I didn’t! I was just… Frustrated, and--”

“Decided to take it out on me?”

“You weren’t any better! I’m not the only one who spoke harshly!”

Silence met his words. Your temper had dwindled rather quickly, though, to your surprise. Maybe you were just… Too tired to argue back. Maybe you were just tired of arguing with him at all. “Why did you act so mean towards me during most of the mission?” You finally asked, vocals much quieter than you’d thought possible of your speech.

“I… I really didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, but you still refused to look at him. You wanted an explanation, and it seemed he was willing to give one. “I was… Worried. And even mad at myself. It was a tough mission that I shouldn’t have brought you on for your first. I don’t doubt you, or your ability, but you have to understand. I was chosen because my father had faith in me-- Surely not as his son, but as a reaper. I thought it would be much more simple, but a witch had shown up, and even the Arachnophobia assassin. I was so harsh on the train because I… I was worried. I didn’t mean to snap at you on the top, we were just in such a precarious position that anything could have happened, and I wanted you to know such.”

So, he was actually worried. You spared a glance at him finally, but he was looking down, legs swinging slightly. A faint smile crawled up to your features at the sight of him, but you forced it down, looking back ahead, knees now up to your chin. “Why’d you knock me off kilter during my Soul Resonance?”

“I was afraid you were blow through the fisher and destroy the engine and key. Granted, if that were to happen, it would probably be for the better, but… My father said to bring the key back, leading me to believe that it has some worth for us yet.” He admitted, and your shoulders relaxed a little more. That was understandable. 

“Say something next time.” You mumbled. “Then… One last question for you… At the end, there… When I blew up on you…”

“Why did I snap at you when you killed him?” He offered. You nodded once. “It didn’t seem like it, but he was actually relaying important information. I… Had just found out some very disturbing news, and I was so distraught by it, and I wanted more knowledge, and then you just…” He let out a slow breath, eyes briefly closing. “I really didn’t mean what I said back there, honest. I had just been so worried over you and mad at myself for bringing you and then the tool and I just… I’d let my emotions get the better of me, I… I’m sorry.” He finished, gazing back at the skyline. 

You were trembling softly once again. Not from anger, not from cold, but from… Relief. And remorse. Kid didn’t hate you-- Hell, he was even worried for you-- Yet you had been a total asshole to him about it. You were even childish enough to avoid him for all that time. 

Maybe it was really you that owed the apology, here. 

“I’m sorry, too.” You admitted, slowly bringing your knees down to dangle beside Kid’s own. “The whole day, I was just really overwhelmed, and you came off as being super critical and judgemental, and I was really just trying to impress you and make myself look more capable than I felt. I… Didn’t mean anything I said, either. You’re not reaper scum, you won’t go to an asymmetrical hell, and I like your OCD. I think it’s unique… Cute.” You admitted, softly blushing as the last word left your lips. 

“Well, at least someone appreciates my understanding for symmetry.” His voice was a scoff, but as you looked towards him, a teasing smile played on his lips. You couldn’t help but let one of your own smiles crawl up as well, and a small giggle escaped your breast.

“At least you don’t have an unhealthy obsession with it… Oh, wait.” You smirked towards him. His eyes narrowed, but that playful twitch of his lips didn’t cease. 

“Symmetry is the key to perfect balance and perfection-- My ‘obsession’ comes with that of being a reaper.” He informed, nose lifted slightly, and you actually laughed. 

“Okay, yeah, sure. I totally forgot Lord Death has as much of a hard on for symmetry like yourself. My bad.” You laughed, and Kid’s face went red at this as he stuttered slightly against your vulgarity, but it seemed to be nothing unusual of you as he had learned, now. He narrowed his eyes again, pushing you slightly. 

“Oh, shove off-- You know I like balance and precision!” 

“A little _too_ much.” You pushed him back, and you both laughed as the playful banter and pushing went back and forth. You hadn’t felt this light and joyus in days. The smile on your face was a true one, and you could even tell yourself. 

Eventually, your banter had died down, and you were both basking in the cool night air. It was getting a little too chilly, though, and dark. You figured it was time to wrap it up for the night. “Well, I should probably be getting back. I didn’t exactly let Jinx know that I was staying out this late, after all.” You commented, bracing your hands on the rail to push yourself up. 

“Yes, I neglected to tell Liz and Patty where I would be as well. My bad.” He chuckled, swiftly standing up. You followed in his footsteps. 

“Yeah, I--” You broke off as your foot slipped, and you gasped, feeling yourself fall opposite of the balcony. Kid sharply barked out your name, and you felt his hand grab onto your wrist. You were yanked back, and you stumbled over the rail, falling onto your knees on the concrete of the balcony ground. 

“Are you alright?” You heard Kid ask, and it sounded more like fretting than asking. He was hovering above you, and you blinked up at him. 

“I-- Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, just slipped.” You grinned sheepishly, taking his hand as he offered it, and pulled you up easily. You brushed off your clothing, looking back at him. “Thanks.” It came out more breathless than you had intended, and that was only because of how close you were standing to him. He was only mere inches away from you, one of your hands placed on his shoulder, while one of his lingered on your arm, the other hovering above your waist. 

You weren’t sure what compelled it, honestly. Maybe it was the glow of his golden eyes in the half-light, or the way he seemed to study your own face with such a soft look you’d never seen adorn his handsome features. Or maybe that he was leaning in, and you were as well, and it only took a second for your lips to connect. It was a fragile kiss, unsure and really just more a touch of lips it seemed. His hand was on your waist, now, and your other arm was on his other shoulder. You’d both briefly parted, only to dive in again in a less fragile touch. 

This one felt more sure than before, but it still held an air of uncertainty and inexperience for, well, it was your first kiss. That one kiss with Brandon when you were eight? Yeah, totally didn’t count-- This was the real deal. 

But you assumed all good things couldn’t last. You’d both finally pulled away, identical blushes staining your cheeks as you simply gazed at each other under the moonlight. _How cliché._ You thought, and ultimately, were the first to pull away. Kid cleared his throat, retracting his hands as well, and offered to walk you home, in which you accepted. You’d finally both reached your house, and you two bid a quiet farewell to each other. When you were inside, you weren’t sure how things were going to be the next day. You did know, though, that the glow on your face could rival that of the sun’s rays.


	3. Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> such long chapters... I'm sorry there's like, not a whole lot of Kid and reader action. Next chapter for sure, though. Feedback much appreciated. Enjoy!!

As you had predicted, you were not chosen for the retreat to take Brew. It had been a failure in the end, and you’d insisted that if you came, things would have been different(probably not, let’s be honest here). It didn’t matter now, though, it seemed; For one, you weren’t the only witch in the school. Apparently Kim Delhi was rumored of being a witch, and Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupré was in affiliation with her. The two had fled, and no later had Medusa showed up with the _actual_ Brew. 

What was even more ~~disturbing~~ surprising was that Medusa had actually been put in charge of the raid on Arachnophobia. How the school could agree to terms like that was beyond you, but you figured it was for a good reason. You wanted to go on this raid. To show them what you learned, how you could do, but you knew this was a large order. 

It was only a day before the raid would take place. You didn’t have much time left. Over the passed time, you’d been accumulating souls in higher levels than you’d imagined. Who knew it would come so naturally? You planned on taking a break today, however, to reserve strength for a mission you weren’t even sure you’d be placed on. 

Kid could tell something was eating at you. You two were alone right now, walking side by side down the streets of Death City, towards an open park. He hadn’t said anything at first, only watching your expressions fluctuate. It wasn’t necessarily awkward between you two anymore after the kiss; At first it had been, but now, things had settled. Neither of you exactly knew where you stood, and it just settled as again, best friends. Kid knew he wanted more, and he suspected the same of you as well, but it hadn’t been spoken about. 

“I have a question.” He suddenly said. You blinked, head lifting, then looked towards him. 

“Yeah?” 

“How come you always have Soul Protect on? My father knows that you’re a witch, as do a lot of other students. You don’t need to hide it.” He commented, and you blinked, head tilting to the side. Soul Protect sounded faintly familiar, but… You had no idea what it was. You figured it was as it sounded, but you could be wrong.

“Huh?” You frowned, confused by this. Kid frowned also. 

“I-- I thought I was quite clear.” He insisted, a little worried looking. 

“No, you were, it’s just-- I don’t know what Soul Protect is. I mean, I can guess, but I don’t know how to use it.” You admitted a little meekly, and he was clearly surprised. 

“What? Waitwaitwait-- You haven’t had Soul Protect on _at all?_ The whole time you’ve been here?” He stopped in front of you, and you’d halted as a result. 

“Yeah, no, I haven’t.”

“How?”

“I dunno.”

Silence followed this. “There-- There must be some mistake. Maybe… Maybe your mother had cast the spell on you when you were younger, or something.” Kid tried, putting a hand on his chin, casting his eyes elsewhere in thought. You softly flinched, involuntarily, of course. 

“Um, no. I couldn’t resonate souls if that was the case.” You said, somewhat coldly. He looked back at you, lips turning into a frown. 

“I don’t think that’s the case. Kim was in the school, remember? She had Soul Protect.” He informed, and you sighed out faintly. 

“That’s true…”

“I’m sorry, but I want to know how this is possible.” He suddenly said, turning away, and held out his hands. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the ground in front of him lit up, and soon, a holographic image of Lord Death appeared. 

“Hey, hiya, Kiddo!” The reaper greeted, bouncing where he stood. 

“Father.” Kid regarded him coolly, and you sidestepped to give them some room, even if Lord Death wasn’t really… Here. “I have a question.”

“A question? Well, I likely have an answer! However, I do need you here in the Death Room, so I can answer your question there.” Death answered, tilting somewhat. “O-kay?” Kid let out a breath through his nose, but gave a nod. 

“Understood.”

“Oh, one more thing! Grab Liz and Patty too, will ya? They should be here for this as well. Ciao!” Lord Death threw up a peace sign, before his image disappeared. 

“Huh. Well, l guess I should go grab them.” Kid commented, turning to you. 

“I want to come with. I want to know why, too.” You said firmly. Kid didn’t seem too surprised by this, and only gave a nod. You two soon retrieved Liz and Patty, and no later were you walking under the guillotine arches of the Death Room. Up ahead, you could see Lord Death, Sid, Naigus, Spirit, and… Medusa. You grimaced slightly. 

Arrangements were being talked to about the students going on the raid for Baba Yaga’s Castle. You overheard Ox and Harvar, Maka and Soul, and Kilik with Pot of Thunder and Fire. Your name wasn’t there-- Of course. Maybe you could convince them otherwise. “However, we also have other conditions.” Sid continued, and Medusa tilted her head in inquiry. “Death the Kid, Elizabeth Thompson, Patricia Thompson. These three will be your guards, as you should know how useful they are in battle.” If Kid was surprised, he didn’t show it. Neither did the sisters, both looking grim as well. 

“There’s one more guard I’d like stationed with her.” Lord Death interrupted, and you were surprised to hear him say your name. “I think this will be a good test, a good assignment to see where you stand.” It was your turn to be surprised, and also your turn to show it. You gave a nod, however, and Medusa’s eyes narrowed. She listened as Sid went on with more regulations, however, and she agreed to them.

“So then, tomorrow morning,” Lord Death started, “at six, the operation will be carried out!” The others agreed. Sid and Naigus lead Medusa out, while Death Scythe stayed with Lord Death, as he should. 

“You two can go now, if you want. I need to discuss something with my father.” Kid had turned to Liz and Patty. 

“Are you telling us to go, or are you saying we can stay if we want?” Liz crossed her arms with a raised brow, and Patty only laughed. Kid frowned. 

“I’m… Not sure.” He glanced towards you, and you didn’t answer at first. 

“Just in case, I think they should step out.” You finally said, and Kid didn’t need anymore. 

“Well, then, I’ll join you two briefly.” Kid turned back to his weapons. Liz looked somewhat skeptical, but knew better than to question it. She grabbed Patty, briefly waving to you and dragged her sister out. 

“So, Kiddo, what was your question?” Lord Death had asked, and Kid turned back to his father. You did as well. 

“It’s about her, actually.” He glanced towards you, and you swallowed. Lord Death made a noise of surprise, tilting slightly again, and Spirit watched with reserved eyes. “I want to know why I cannot sense her soul as a witch’s. She is a witch, afterall.”

“Soul Protect!” Lord Death clapped his hands together, bouncing back a step. “I thought you knew better, Kid!”

“I don’t know what that is.” You intervened, and Death sweatdropped. “I mean, I haven’t been using it. At all.”

“Ah, I see. Well then! I thought you were aware of this,” Lord Death looked at you. “You’re only part witch.” You blinked. Kid did too. Was that even a thing?

“What?”

“Your father was human. Your mother was witch. Normally it results in one or the other, but it seems you’re a special case, heh.” The shinigami shrugged. “When you were first born, your soul was a witch’s. However, as you grew, it became more human than magic, and eventually, all traces of witch disappeared! I believe, though, there is an answer to this. The more you learn to use your magic, the more you unlock your full potential, and through that, your soul will awaken, and you will be a witch!” He clapped his hands together again. “Half witch, mind you.”

“What does half witch mean?” You blurted out before Kid could get out his own question. 

“It means you’re half human soul, half magic soul.”

“No, I know that!” You growled, somewhat frustrated. “I mean, what is the difference? I just have to unlock my magic, or whatever? Is that it?”

“Mm… That is one difference.” He mused, bringing a hand up to his chin. Well, mask. “As for the others, you got me.” He shrugged his large hands. “You might be less powerful than other witches, with less control over your abilities. You probably wouldn’t have a familiar, I imagine. Other than that, I’m assuming everything else is the same.” 

“Huh.” You mumbled, looking down at your feet. 

“If you want, I’ll speak with Medusa about it. She would know more on this than I would.” Lord Death said, earning surprised looks from all of you. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to ask her something like that… Revealing one of our students like that couldn’t possibly be a good idea.” Spirit interfered. 

“Oh, nonsense! I’m not worried about that. We have all of our eyes on Medusa, so if she tries to pull anything, she’ll know what will happen.” Death scoffed, looking back at Kid and I. “Well, you’re free to go! Make sure you’re both bright eyed and bushy tailed for the seize tomorrow! Ciao!” He waved, and you both bid farewell, turning and heading back out. All of the new news banged around in your head. You barely heard Kid as he called your name. He placed his hand on your shoulder, and that’s when you finally looked at him. 

“Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were alright.” He frowned. 

“Yeah, just… A little overwhelmed. Heh.” You admitted, rubbing the back of your head. He smiled at this, removing his hand. 

“Well, after this operation is complete, I was wondering if I could take you out for dinner.” You blinked, surprised at his sudden question. He was serious as he said this, though, and another small blush lit your cheeks. 

“U-uh, really? Like, a date?” You asked a little numbly. He chuckled, but gave a single nod. You finally smiled. “Yeah, sure. That sounds good.” 

“I’m glad to hear. We can figure out a time once this is over-- I don’t know how long it will last, after all.” He smiled, taking your hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. Your blush only increased. 

“Y-yeah. Who knows.” You agreed quietly, still smiling like an idiot.   
\--  
The next morning had you waking up earlier than you liked. Jinx didn’t mind waking up early, and was even more excited than you to be on the mission. You probably would have shared his enthusiasm, but Lord Death’s information on your soul changed your perspective a little on everything. 

The jungles were deep. Foliage all around, as well as Arachne’s webs, according to Medusa. You followed straight behind her and everyone else as she lead you through, and you came upon a small lake. You’d started to feel uncomfortable as Pot of Fire and Thunder started to bawl over nature’s feeling, and that was when a large, squid like creature sprouted up from the lake. “Scatter!” Medusa ordered, and you’d instantly climbed up the nearest tree. Jinx was a gauntlet, and you ordered him to transform into a bow. You gripped him tightly in your hands, watching Ox dart forward and electrocute the squid while Medusa destroyed threatening tentacles with her vector arrows. The squid nearly caught Ox, but Medusa had saved him with a vector plate. 

You drew your bow up, and pulled back, releasing an arrow at the squid. You repeated this process, and were able to see Kid shooting at it as well with his guns. Your arrows looked to just hit the squid and disperse, and Medusa had soon explained that the squid was covered in magic, and the layer had to be stripped. You jumped down by everyone else. “Cover Kilik and myself.” She said, shooting forward vector arrows. Jinx turned into a flail, which you gripped firmly in your hands, and soon enough, Kilik had darted forward, finishing off the squid with a single blow. 

“Shit… Magic is dangerous…” You muttered, swallowing tersely. 

“No kidding.” Jinx agreed, and you were all soon moving on again, Medusa in the lead once more. You’d soon infiltrated into the castle with the help of a Mizune, and were traveling down the corridors. You all suddenly stopped, and Medusa explained how we had to get rid of the magic locks, but only two of them. She directed Ox and Kilik to one, and surprisingly enough, Kid and yourself to another. 

“Hey, wait, we’re supposed to be guarding you!” You interfered, and Kid agreed. 

“I need Maka and her Soul Perception for this. I trust you two are strong enough to take on whatever you encounter.” Medusa insisted, and you grit your teeth, eyes narrowing behind the mask. She came up, touching you and Kid’s masks to give you vectoral guidance as well. You all started to head down the hallways, not speaking as your shoes all clicked against the stone grounds. 

You flinched as an alarm suddenly started to go off. You looked around, as did everyone else. “We didn’t get found out, did we?” You muttered, and Kid briefly took off his mask. 

“Why are you smiling?” Liz asked, and you glanced at Kid, seeing he was smiling indeed. 

“BlackStar is late.” He mumbled, and you twitched, concentrating. You were faintly able to pick up his soul, and there was no doubt it was him who tripped the alarm. You smiled as well, and heard Jinx huff behind you. 

“Only he would.”

And you all continued. The halls wound, right, left, right, left… It went on and on, and Kid seemed pleased with it. That was until you all had to make another left instead of a right. All of you were uncloaked now, and Liz and Patty were trying to pry Kid off of the wall as he tried to take a right. Finally, Liz convinced them to let go, and guided him left while covering his eyes. Patty even had to slam him into a wall to ensure he wouldn’t back track. When they were about to advance, and small man came out from the dark of the corridor. 

“I’m afraid you all won’t be advancing any further. You really got us, shinigami…” The man chuckled. Kid wiped the blood away from his nose, eyes narrowing. 

“Mosquito…” He mumbled, and the man named Mosquito only sniffed. “Liz, Patty, transform. He won’t let us through without a fight.” You held your hand out for Jinx too, but footsteps were suddenly heard. A tall, lumbering man stepped out from behind you all, a ball chain on one foot. “Free? What are you doing here? This is our tower.” Kid blinked in confusion, and you were confused as well. 

“Isn’t this tower two?” Free barely glanced at you all, and Kid’s brow twitched. 

“This is tower eight.” He mumbled, and Free twitched. He turned to Kid fully, and you subconsciously shifted back at the height of this man. He was sweating slightly now. 

“I’ll ask once more… This is tower two, right?”

“No, this is number eight.” Kid stated blandly. There was silence, and the wolf man hunched over with a groan. 

“Aagghh…” He moaned out, and Kid sighed. 

“Yes, I believe you messed up a little.”

“What an unfortunate event. It seems, though, that that tower is safe. I will stop you here.” Mosquito spoke, and Free turned towards him. 

“Maybe it was fate that brought me here… Although it pisses me off to fight beside a shinigami.” He grinned towards Kid, and Kid huffed, holding his arms out slightly. 

“Believe me, I’m the disgusted one. You awakened the kishin, and brought disarray upon the world… However, there is no time for that. Liz, Patty.” He ordered, and they transformed into guns. You held out your hand, and Jinx took the form a flail once more. Free glanced at you, raising a brow. 

“You supposed to be here?” He rumbled disbelievingly, and you scoffed. 

“Yes.” You spat back, and he huffed, looking back ahead with a ‘if you say so’.

Brief discussion was held as Mosquito doubled-- no, tripled-- his size. Kid was the first to dart forward with his guns, shooting at the man. Free rushed one side, and you rushed the other. Your flail made contact with Mosquito, and he turned to you, only for Free to bash in and uppercut him, sending him up. His hand formed into something larger and stronger, and he bashed Mosquito’s face again. You ducked just in time, jumping back as he sent Mosquito skidding back. Kid berated him on sending the enemy the way they had to go, but said man was stumbling back up. He mentioned something about a form from two hundred years ago, and to your horror, he elongated himself, growing even bigger. 

“What the hell is this guy?” Jinx hissed, and you could only shake your head. He’d suddenly darted forward, and you were right in the middle. 

“Uh--” You didn’t have much time to react. You held up your chain, choking out as his large nose drilled right into the chain, pushing you all the way back as he ran. The tip of his nose was digging into your stomach, but just barely, and you knew you weren’t sustaining as much damage as Free and Kid were, whom were literally being dragged against the wall by this guy. Finally, Free had reached over, allowing you to jump back as he slammed Mosquito into a wall, all of you falling into another room. 

Kid had started to take on Mosquito by himself, and you felt useless watching, but he really had it down to a science. It was actually entertaining to view, and you were taking mental notes on it-- He really was a work of art. Eventually, Free had trapped him in a solid pillar, and Jinx turned into a bow. You couldn’t get close without getting injured from Kid and Free’s firing, so you had to use long range as well. 

“Let’s use this properly, now.” You grinned, able to feel the shift around you as you resonated souls with Jinx. You drew back the arrow as it grew and bloomed out. “Blooming Vale!” You cried out, releasing the arrow with a pluck of your fingers. You could hear Mosquito cry out as all three of your attacks hit at the same time. When the smoke cleared, Mosquito was starting to disintegrate, but still appeared alive. 

“Stubborn old man.” Kid muttered, and you agreed silently as the dying soul started to speak. 

“To think you could damage me this far… Even in my two hundred year form… I may have underestimated you all somewhat.” He rasped out, “So be it… You can all bear witness to true Hell…!” Your eyes widened, expecting him to finally give out, but no-- His soul started to… Swell up. Gain power. Kid voiced your thoughts, and you shifted back, trembling slightly as you gripped onto Jinx. 

“Stay calm-- I’m sure it’s just a final show, if you would, before he actually dies.” Jinx assured you, and you swallowed. 

“I’m… Not so sure.” You admitted meekly, watching as he started to shift shapes. 

“This is my power… From four hundred years ago!” He cried out, laughing slightly as a lean figured was whisping into view, and soon enough, a young man was visible. Calm, cool, collected he stood, hands behind his back as he viewed you all. “This is my four hundred year form. Let’s see if you all can last, let’s say… Even four seconds.” He started to fade away into tatters the same way he appeared, and your eyes widened. 

Looking over, you gasped as he appeared beside Free, swiping his hand and demolishing a good half of the werewolf. You had no time to react as next was Kid, his arm completely severed. You held up your bow, not enough time to have Jinx change, but even that was too late. You felt a painful, ripping gash across your stomach, all the way up to your chest and shoulder.

You choked out, feeling blood bubble out of your mouth. You had no time to utter anything as you dropped back against the ground, a thud and a clatter alike as Jinx was cast off to the side. You wheezed, turning your head to the side to not swallow blood as it forced up your throat. You could feel it bubbling out from between your lips, and with blurry vision, you saw your arm, severed and bloody, a few feet away, Jinx as well. Your weapon screamed your name, and you saw him start to glow. “Don’t… Trans… form…” You wheezed out, speech and breathing painful as dark started to seep around your vision. You could barely hear the voices in the background speaking, but you heard another thud against the ground after the sound of an attack went off. It was a struggle to stay away-- You didn’t know _how_ you were still awake. 

_This… This is it… I’m dying… Damn it all… Was this my fate? To be stopped here?_ You could feel another soul swell up. _Kid… What are you doing? How can you have so much power? That’s right, you’re a reaper… And I’m just a witch. A half witch. Maybe if I had awakened my soul, I would be alright. Maybe I wouldn’t be dying._ You drew in a shuddering breath, coughing out weakly as more dark encased your vision. The last thing you saw was Jinx turning back into a human, and running over to your side. 

Everything after that was only muffled sounds, and eventually, quiet. 

You gasped, sitting up. You heard the flutter of wings and the rustle of of grass. Slowly taking in the area around you, it was clear that you were in a field. It was so serene, soft and quiet, but you could feel the grass this time. You knew you could. In dreams, you couldn’t, so either the battle you just experienced was a dream, or… You were dead. 

It was likely the latter. 

You expected to feel panic, to feel some sort of nagging anxiety, but… Nothing came. You felt calm, serene… At peace. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. What you had been fearing most was here within seconds, and you’d never felt more alive. 

Alive wasn’t the right word for this. You’d never felt more with nirvana than at this very second. Not even when you were young, or at home with Rachel and Justin, no. This was something completely new. You longed to lay down and sleep, to relish in it all, but something was keeping you awake. Natural energy? Was that what this felt like?

You lied back down. Remorse tugged inside of you. You’d never gotten to thank Jinx for being your weapon, for helping you to grow stronger, for becoming your friend. You never were able to tell Justin his music was in poor taste, and how much you loved him, and how he was always like the older brother you wanted. Soul wouldn’t get his five dollars from that bet, you couldn’t read that book Maka had been begging you forever to read, and you hadn’t yet watched BlackStar beat the tar out of that one bully. Tsubaki would forever not know the secret to the lotions used to keep your skin so smooth, you wouldn’t be able to finish that painting with Patty, and Liz couldn’t do your nails and makeup. And Kid…

Damn, you couldn’t give him that date. Or your companionship, any longer. You hadn’t even gotten the chance to say that you loved him. Did he love you? As a friend, probably. He’d asked you out, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. 

Man, what a god-awful time to die. You hadn’t even skydived yet. 

You sat back up as you heard another sound, and looked around. You turned your body slightly, looking over your shoulder. Blinking, you rubbed your eyes. Not once, but twice. Yes, there was someone standing there. A woman, in a willowy, wispy dress. She was turned away from you, long, soft locks blowing in the wind. You took a piece of your hair, and observed that yours was the same color. 

You pushed yourself up, rocking back before steadying, and begun to walk towards her. When you approached, her head turned slightly, but she didn’t turn towards you. Only when you stopped a couple feet away did she acknowledge you by completely facing you. You gasped, seeing she was faceless. No eyes, nose-- Nothing. Just a blank canvas. Her hair whipped around her as she held out her arms to you, and you hesitated. 

You seemed to feel an attraction towards this woman, however, and slowly moved towards her. You now stood between her arms, and they slowly encased themselves around you, one cradling the back of your head while the other wrapped around your back. Your hands tugged against her dress, and you allowed your eyes to close. Her scent wafted over you, and it was familiar, oh so achingly familiar. You wrapped your arms around her, nails digging into the back of her dress now as she hummed a distant tune while stroking up and down your back and brushing down your hair gently. 

You glanced up at her, and was shocked to see a face on her. A beautiful, blooming smile, a soft round nose, and gentle, doe brown eyes, and yes, this… This was her. 

“M… Mama…” You choked out, tears blurring your vision as her smile grew more, her eyes crinkling in the corner. 

“My sweet…” She whispered out, and you buried your face in her bosom, beginning to cry and release everything. She only continued to hum, rubbing small circles on the small of your back as she stroked through your hair with gentle fingers. “It’s time to get up…”

“Wha… What?” You sniffed, pulling back to look up at her in confusion. She only continued to smile, pulling her hands away, and placed them on your chest-- Above your soul. “Mama…”

“I love you, my precious. You will always be the light of me, and my light is yours now, dearest.” She hummed, and you could see her hands start to glow. 

“But… But I just got here… Don’t… Don’t you want me here?” You choked out, feeling crushed at the fact of her already pushing you away. Her smile dropped, eyebrows creasing together, and you flinched at how hurt _she_ looked. 

“Of course I do, my love… But not yet. I have spun my story: It is time for you to spin yours.” Her voice had come out as a mere breath. The light swelled up, and you felt your soul doing the same-- Burning, oh, the pain; Agonizing and exhilarating, fiery hot and icy cold, filling you to the brim and draining you of all your worth. Your mouth opened in a soundless cry, your body frozen to the spot as you begun to feel almost airless. 

_”Live your tale, my dearest, for I will always be waiting.”_

A bright light encased your vision, and you sat up again. You groaned out in pain, this time, coughing and turning onto your side after you flopped back down. Your chest and stomach hurt like Hell itself, and your shoulder was aching beyond compare. You let out a miserable whimper, and cried out again as you felt arms wrap around you. 

“O-oh… Oh my god… I thought… I thought I had lost you…” You heard a choked voice, and glancing over slightly, you saw Jinx had buried his head into the crook of your neck. You felt wet speckle down, and realized that he was crying. 

“J… Jinx…” You croaked, his grip only tightening. “I’m… I’m here… But… Crushing… It hurts…”

“Shoot, sorry.” He slowly, hesitantly, let go, and you could indeed see he was crying. His eyes were glazed over with tears and relief, water speckling his glasses. “You stopped breathing… I couldn’t feel your soul wavelength… I thought it was over, and I couldn’t save you in time…” He whispered, hiccuping faintly and looking away, pressing the heel of his hand to his eyes. You’d never seen him like this, and it was scaring you a little. You knew you must have spooked him a lot more, though. 

“How am I alive?” You rasped, slowly pushing yourself up again. You saw your severed arm was… Reattached. You moved all of your fingers in your previously disassembled arm and saw that it was working fine. 

“I… I don’t know, honestly…” Jinx admitted, though glanced at your stomach and chest. Looking down, you saw a large rip down your jacket and shirt, though you swore you could see something even more. Brow furrowing, you quickly removed and tossed your jacket aside, and your shirt was stained a deep crimson, but you saw bright, golden crystals there instead. Small, studded, it seems that they healed up your wound, and even reattached your arm. 

“Huh. This must be it.” You muttered, dropping your shirt back down. You had Jinx help you stand, and looked around. “Where’s Kid and the others?” You asked, seeing they weren’t there. 

“They had to go head to stop Mosquito. Kid was extremely reluctant to leave you, but his weapons convinced him otherwise. I stayed with you to try and stop the bleeding and to keep you out of harm's way.” He explained, and you nodded slowly. 

“Well… I’m a little hazy, but we can’t just leave the others.” Jinx seemed reluctant on your statement. “I’ll stop if I don’t feel well, but for now, we must go forward! Come!” You insisted, heading off, and your weapon followed. 

After running back the way you came through the castle, you came to figure out that most of it was in ruins. There was no fighting to be heard, and it seemed the battle had seized. When you regrouped with everyone else, it was official: 

You had taken control of Baba Yaga’s Castle.

One thing worried you, however-- You had seen no sign of Kid. Not even of Justin, either. When you returned back to the academy, Naigus insisted on checking your injury. Everyone had been cautious of you, startled and scared as they felt the soul of a witch suddenly approached, but it had been only you. You’d nearly gotten a blade through your chest twice because of it. 

The crystals had flaked off easily, and upon further inspection of x-rays and the like, there seemed to be no internal damage. Even your arm had crystallized back together, though the part where it had formed back was much harder than it should have been. Even the scar across your stomach and chest didn’t feel as soft and fleshy as it should. Naigus said the brunt of it would disappear with time. 

While in the dispensary, you’d seen BlackStar, bloody and bandaged. You’d only said a few brief words with him, but caught on that he’d defeated Mifune, and Angela the witch was taken into the DWMA’s custody. Talking to other people also revealed that Kid was indeed missing. Students knew, at least, and when you spoke with Liz about it, she said he’d gotten sucked up into a book. No immediate action could be taken, and you would have been freaking out, but everyone else seemed calm. Not worried. Whatever the reason, you would help them get Kid back. 

Lord Death had called you up to the Death Room-- By yourself. You were a little worried that they’d kick you out, now that your soul awakened, but then remembered that Kim was still admitted in. They wouldn’t choose favorites… Would they?

When you came into the room, however, you saw only Lord Death, as well with a small statured woman-- Girl? You weren’t sure. She looked a little older than you, but was shorter. Her hair was short, a dusky purple color, and she wore black and purple clothing(a round skirt and top with prominent shoulders). They had a scratchy black pattern on it similar to her long tailed hat, and… She even had a ringed tail!? This was a witch, no doubt! Lord Death saw you stop and stiffen, and he called your name with a wave of his hand. 

“Please, come forward! I’d like you to meet someone.” He crooned, and you slowly advanced, trusting his word on this. “This is May. Yes, she is a witch-- I could see it on your face.” May turned towards you, a small, shy smile parting her lips. She was just a small, slim little thing. You hated to put labels on people, but she didn’t even seem like a threat. “And also like you, she is only a half-witch.” Your eyes flickered. 

“Oh.” Was all you mumbled, shifting on your feet. 

“Yes… I’m from the Spring Guild. Despite hundreds of years of tensions, my guild harbors no hard feelings towards Lord Death or the school.” May explained softly, bright colbalt blue eyes casting elsewhere briefly as if she was scared to meet your gaze. “D-Death said you might have questions for me.”

“Um… I guess I do…” You rubbed the back of your neck. You better not waste this opportunity. “What’s the difference between a half-witch and actual witch?”

“Well, a half-witch is half witch and half hu--” 

“Yes, I already know that.” You snapped, a little irritable. You’d heard it three times, now. She flinched faintly at that. 

“U-um… Well, I have more witch than human in me, s-so… I do know that most half-witches don’t have a substantial power source. Usually their abilities are for support, like, healing, and defense. Most attacks aren’t straightforward.” She explained, and you nodded slowly. That made sense, especially for your display of abilities at the castle. “Half-bloods also don’t have the same lifespan as regulars.” You shivered slightly at her words. You’d never been called ‘half-blood’ before. Or have you…? 

“So I can’t live hundreds of years like other witches?” You clarified, and she nodded. 

“Not you, at least. I live longer than a normal person, but I don’t have the sustainability of a full witch. As for yourself… You’d probably only live the lifespan of an average human. Maybe a little longer. I can read it in your soul.” She informed, her eyes flickering eerily, and you swallowed. So… You were only a mortal… That didn’t really matter, did it? And your magic was mostly for defense and healing. Also not another problem. This was turning out better than you expected. 

“I see… Well, thank you for your time and information, May.” You smiled, still a little hesitant as you held out your hand. She took it, her small, slim fingers fitting into your own palm as she gave a surprisingly firm shake, and you two drew back. 

“Well, I’m glad that May was able to provide information to you!” Lord Death clapped his hands together, bouncing slightly. “You can head out, now, but I’d like to speak with you yet, May.” The witch blinked, but dipped her head, looking at you. She gave another shy smile and wave, and you returned the wave, turning and walking out of the death room. While walking down the halls, you heard your name. Stopping and looking at the source, you saw Stein walk up to you, followed by Marie and Spirit.

“Sorry to stop you, but I have information that I think you have a right to know about.” He said, somewhat hurried, and you blinked, surprised. Wasn’t Professor Stein recently taken into custody…? You told him to go on, and he did. “I suspect that Justin Law has committed the crime of the murder of B.J. Buttataki, and he has even gone missing as well.”

“J-Justin?” You stuttered out in surprise, feeling your heart sink. Now Justin was not only missing, but he had murdered someone as well? That wasn’t like him… Wasn’t like him at all… He was a bright, zealous person-- For the most part. You’d lived with him for awhile, and seen when things got dark between him and others. Not pretty, but he’d never go _that_ far. “I don’t… Understand how… Why…” You stumbled back slightly. 

“Stein, should you really be telling her all of this?” Marie hissed to the doctor, whom was turning the screw in his head, while even Spirit looked uncomfortable. He didn’t answer, but when a click was heard, he spoke. 

“Absolutely. I think it’s also her right to come with us to search for him.” He offered. Marie stuttered, and you swallowed, eyes narrowing. _One step at a time… If I can’t find Kid yet, then I’ll help my cousin._ You decided. 

“Hey, hey, now wait a minute.” Spirit growled out, stalking up, but you spoke first.

“I wanna come.” You said firmly, and Marie stuttered again, trying to say otherwise. Spirit even was saying no. “When are we leaving?”

“Soon. Normally I’d say you should bring Jinx, but I don’t think that will be necessary with your defensive abilities. Plus, Marie and I will be there.” Stein answered, resulting in you swallowing again. He made it sound like there was going to be a fight, and by the look in his and everyone else’s eyes, you knew this was supposed to be on the down low. You planned to keep it that way as well. 

And so, Stein, Marie, and you were off eventually. You had on billowing cloaks to keep the heat from beating down on you. Stein said he had a general idea where Justin was, now. You could faintly hear the beating sound of music in the distance, and the closer you became, the louder it got. You now stood on a cliff, overlooking the vast desert, and low and behold Justin was there beside a coffin. You could hardly hear who was speaking or what they were saying, but you saw Justin turn towards them. The breath hitched in your throat at the look in your cousin’s eyes, and that’s when you knew: This was not the same preacher as before. 

He was still calm, however, as he regarded you all, not even flinching as Marie and Stein revealed themselves. You shrunk back a little more as you tuned back in, finally, and Marie asked why Justin had killed B.J.

“B.J.’s soul perception was too dangerous… The Kishin could not rest easily with him about.” He explained simply, and your blood grew cold at this answer. No way… Was he… Really not…?

“You’ve got some nerve coming back to Death City,” Stein drawled, eyes narrowing. “What are you after?...” He hesitated at this point, but spoke again. “Maka Albarn?” Justin didn’t answer, just hummed and smiled as he listened to his music, silently confirming his answer. That’s when Marie jumped down. 

“You’ll never hurt my students!” She cried out, rushing towards Justin. Something came over you-- You didn’t know what. You couldn’t bare to see her hit him, even with the circumstances. You suddenly lunged forward, your magic pushing you easily through the air, and you landed right in front of Justin. Marie’s eyes widened, but she already had thrown the punch, and couldn’t pull back. You cupped your hands where she predicted where she would hit, and it landed right in your stomach, into your waiting hands. Your eyes widened as you saw the same golden crystals form on your hands, and encase Marie’s arm. “How?” She breathed, stumbling and pushing you back slightly. 

“I-- I don’t--” You stopped as you heard Stein say your name. His voice was calm, and so was his posture as he walked over, but you could see he looked stressed, and even disappointed. 

“I didn’t bring you here so you could stop what we need to do.” Stein said quietly, and you gritted your teeth, breaking your hands away and backing up more, standing now directly in front of Justin. 

“I see your soul has awakened.” Justin said calmly, and you blinked, looking up at him. His face was idle, and you could feel a dark aura from him, but it almost all seemed to vanish as he smiled brightly down at you. “I’m proud. You can stop pretending to be on their side, now, and come back with me.”

“W-what?” You stuttered in surprise, shifting a half-step back. 

“So you both had this planned.” You flinched, looking over to see Stein holding Marie in her mjolnir form. His eyes narrowed at the both of you, and you shook your head. 

“No! There was no plan! This is…” You trailed off, shaking. The tables were turned on _you_ , now. “No, just, give Justin time to explain!”

“Explain what?” Stein asked coldly. “It’s obvious where his loyalties lie, now.” 

“Not… Not true…” You whispered, looking back at your cousin. His eyes were narrowed, and you viewed his pendant. It was… The Kishin’s symbol. His ear buds, and oh, even his sleeves-- Oh, no, this couldn’t be happening! “Justin… Why…” You whispered again, reaching forward to grab at his sleeve. His eyes flicked to you, so sharp that you recoiled, afraid he would actually hurt you. He reached over, and you tried to back up, but couldn’t. He grabbed your arm, and your cry was cut short as he pulled you to his form, wrapping his arms around you. 

He said your name so softly that you’d flinched once again, but slowly clutched to his clothing. “We do not have to fight. We don’t have to be enemies. It’s time for you to come back with me, where you truly belong-- Where _we_ truly belong.”

“B-but, I belong here!” You cried out, looking up at him with wide, watery eyes. “I-- You-- _We_ belong in Death City! With the DWMA, and Lord Death, and everyone else! What happened, Justin?” You sniffed, and he let out a breath, worry creasing his features as he ran a hand through your hair while he peered down at you. 

“I saw-- I know-- The truth. I’m sorry you have been blinded for so long, but--” His eyes flicked upwards, and he pushed you away suddenly. You stumbled, falling and looking over, only to see Stein had attacked. Justin tried to block the attack, was uppercut, and-- Dear Death, you couldn’t keep up with it. He was in the air, then was suddenly back on the ground. He was suddenly careened again, back against the desert cliff. 

“Justin!” You cried out. When the dust cleared, he was hunched against the wall, head down briefly. He looked battered, and his lips were a little bloody, but other than that seemed fine. 

"Ngh… I suppose I should use my artifact… to retreat for now.” He grunted, pushing himself up. Artifact? Your eyes narrowed, watching as he took out a piece of paper. He smiled slightly, looking towards you. “I’ll come back for you. I won’t leave you to suffer.” He promised, looking back at Stein with narrowed eyes. “Well, then. I’ll just be off.” His whole body was suddenly sucked into the piece of paper, and it floated to the ground before anyone could do anything about it. You didn’t even have time to pick it up-- It disintegrated when suddenly consumed by a flame. 

With a trembling frame, you slowly drew yourself back up. You flinched, looking over as Stein was suddenly in front of you, hand crackling with energy. You tried to jump back, but it was too late. His palm connected with your stomach, and you let out a scream as you felt his wavelength shoot into you. When he drew back, you felt barely conscious and fried, and teetered on your feet, finally slumping forward. Marie had turned back and caught you, rapidly speaking in a worried tone, but it was lost as your consciousness was gone as well. 

When you’d woken up, you were back in the familiarity of the dispensary. Nobody was there, but when Naigus had come in, she explained that Stein had knocked you out because he didn’t want to risk you running off. She also mentioned that Stein had already spoken to Lord Death, and the reaper himself requested your presence. You felt even more sick and worried this time as you went to face your… Possibly impending doom. When you reached the room, Lord Death turned around and greeted you bright. 

“How are you feeling? A little groggy, I’d imagine.” He commented, tilting slightly to the side. 

“Y-yes, I am… What exactly did you want to see me for…?” You asked cautiously, uneasy as you shifted from foot to foot. 

“Well, I’m sure you can imagine. Stein said that Justin made it sound as if you knew about his plan all along.” The shinigami shrugged large hands. “I can’t just ignore Stein’s words, but I find that hard to believe.”

“H-He’s wrong!” You insisted fiercely, trembling slightly as you stood before the god. “I swear by my own life! I didn’t know Justin would… I didn’t think he… I didn’t know anything about his plans. At all. I… It can’t be plans, right? Wouldn’t it be the m-madness?” You stuttered out, sounding almost broken at this point. 

“It could be, and I’m sure it is, but people like Justin who had such a strong devotion are hard to sway. Either it was one heck of a fight that he lost, or he truly didn’t have the belief we thought he did.” Came Lord Death’s answer. Your shoulders sunk at the thought of it. “I know this is hard to go through, and I’m sorry, but we have to look forward as well. Do you think you’re up for a mission?” You were a little peeved that he was asking at a time like this, but didn’t express it. You simply gave a nod. “There’s someone I’d like you to take care of-- Reyn the Avaricious. He’s become quite a nuisance, and needs to be stopped.”

“I’ll get him. Don’t worry.” You muttered, looking down as you clenched your fists. You didn’t even stop to listen to what else he had to say, but simply turned and headed out. 

\--

The time that had flown by was not for, well, naught. Training had ensued, and not only had Soul actually become a Death Scythe, but more information was found out as well. About Crona, Medusa… The name ‘Noah’ had been mentioned here and there, although not many knew exactly who he was or what he did. He worked with magic, you knew. You hadn’t seen Justin since-- He really did succumb to the madness. 

With everyone busy training, the times you all got together were far and few. You hadn’t felt this isolated in years. Kid was still missing, and even though Jinx was with you every step of the way, there was still a gaping hole deep inside. 

That was, until the day that they had found a way to rescue Kid. You had pleaded and begged to come, but they simply wouldn’t allow you. Lord Death refused to grant you permission for the mission, saying it was too advanced. Only Spartoi had gotten to go, leaving you even more frustrated; You couldn’t help in the effort. You just had to trust in the others. 

All you could do was go on a mission of your own. Another troublesome kishin, this one in London. It was a quite simple mission that took no more than a half and hour. You and Jinx were able to spend the day touring and sightseeing, and at night, you’d pinpointed the kishin and took care of it. 

Afterwards, you were heading back to the hotel for the night, but had stopped along the way. In the near distance, you heard billowing bells as they rang in the ominous moonlight, and frowned. Jinx halted, in foot and conversation, looking back at you. “What’s up?”

“The cathedral…” You muttered, “I’m not religious, but I don’t think bells are meant to be rung in the dead of night, no?”

“Who knows. I never went to church.” He admitted, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. You hummed, squinting faintly, and used your soul perception to narrow in. There were only few souls accounted for, and one you recognized… All too well…

“Justin!” You suddenly gasped, eyes widening, and you took off towards the church. 

“H-hey, wait!” Jinx stuttered, and you heard his footsteps pound after you. A grimace took ahold of your features as one of the soul wavelength’s dwindled away. Another one did as well. 

“Hurry, Jinx, transform!” You barked, holding your hand out to him, and he obliged. You gripped him a sword in your hand, using your magic to easily boost yourself forward. You reached the cathedral doors, and shoved them open. You let out a breath. Nobody was left, only a few, floating souls were in the wake. Justin wasn’t even here. 

A soft chuckle reverberated through the chamber. Sharply looking up, at the front of the cathedral was a woman, and she was… Floating. Maybe flying? An angel?? She had feathery, white wings spread out from her back, sparkling in the colorful moonlight. Her hair fell just passed her waist, wavy and blue, and her sleeves were long, her dress flaring out widely around her knees. In the center was a long, single stole with a symbol on it, and she had a longer, feathered collar. You guessed she was some kind of religious figurehead, and you hoped that the souls around her weren’t a sacrifice. 

“You seem to be lost.” She spoke, voice anything but friendly. It was more condescending, but it had a light tone to it. Glaring up at her, you noticed only one of her eerie lavender eyes glowed, while the other was scarred and black. You believed she had no eye at all. Your own two narrowing, you spoke your mind. 

“I don’t think I am. Did you kill these people? These innocent souls?” You demanded. 

“They could not see correctly what lay in front of them. Unfortunately, they did not follow the path of righteousness, and therefore, had to be put out.” She informed, eyes narrowing dangerously, descending only slightly. 

“They can follow whatever path they want. Theirs was not of evil.” You spat, noting how bright the souls were, compared to the darkly, sickly red of the evil souls. “I shall take you down here,” You pointed your sword straight at her, “Your soul is mine.”

“Hmph.” She smirked, her wings beating once as she rose up more. “Very well. A duel we shall have. Soul Protect-- Release!” Yours eyes widened at her words, and you flinched back as the wind whipped around her, and you felt the true extent of her soul. 

“S-She’s a witch!?” You heard Jinx stutter, and you yourself couldn’t speak. 

“Naughty naughty, going against your fellow witches.” She chided, spreading out her arms and wings and raised her head. “Dove, dove, bright light, oh, my Goddess, grant me the gift to fight!” She chanted, spreading her fingers and raising her arms more. She beat her wings again, a flurry of feathers coming from them and gently twirling in the air around her. Then, she grinned, her sharp eyes boring down on you and Jinx. “Feathered Frenzy!” With a swoop of her arms down, the quill tip of the feather suddenly pointed straight at you both, then shot towards you. 

You gasped, quickly raising your arms to block the attack with your thin, crystalline like shield. Some of the feathers clunked against the barrier, but some even became embedded in it. Your eyes flickered, and you cried out as the barrier was shattered, and you were sent flying back when the witch came down and attacked. You hit harshly against the cathedral doors, and to your horror, found that they only opened inwards. The witch sneered, raising a glowing hand and moved to strike you, but you rolled aside just in time. 

“Quick, bow!” You barked to Jinx, whom obliged, transforming. You rolled away again, quickly scaling a few pews, and then stopped. Panting, you drew back an arrow, and swiftly stood. You gasped, seeing the witch had shot an arrow of your own, and it pierced straight through your dominant wrist. You dropped Jinx, whom called your name worriedly, and ducked just in time as she sent another arrow sailing your way. 

“What are we gonna do!? You’re injured, and we can’t even get near her!” Jinx fretted as you grit your teeth and ripped the feather out. Your wound started to crystallize, and although painful, it would suffice for now. 

“We fight, what do you mean?” You hissed back to Jinx, taking him back up. You drew him again, standing back up, though stumbled back as she suddenly appeared from behind another pew. A large grin was spread across her face as she swiped at you. You had jumped back again, sending an arrow her way, though it had simply sailed passed her head. 

Growling out, you had Jinx turn into a flail. Gripping him tightly in your hand, you swung him around a few times, before swinging at her. She simply pushed herself up, your flail embedding in the wooden pew and splintering it. For a moment, you were stuck there, trying to wrench your weapon free, but cried out as you were struck from the back. The impact was so rough it had sent you flying over to the other section of pews, and you hit the side of one painfully. You could feel the wood dig into your side and painfully bruise your back, and a groan left your lips as your slumped down. 

You drew yourself back up, only to five sharp pricks hit your body. Two on one leg, one on your shoulder, and one in your stomach and chest. The chest feather had not been deep enough to be fatal, thank Death, but you still knew something was being excreted, for your whole body felt as if it was on fire. At least, the areas hit. 

You let out a slow breath, taking a step forward, but sunk to your knees as you felt the pain over take you. You were panting hard, and every breath you took was a labored effort. It was like you were cut open again. Wheezing, you ripped one of the feathers out, the one in your chest. A splurt of deep, dark crimson followed it, and to your horror, you realized that this feather had nicked an artery. 

You could very well bleed to death. This was no laughing matter. The witch landed, walking towards you with careful, precise steps, her gently sloping heels clicking against the ground. Suddenly, Jinx was in front of you. He seemed a little beaten up too, panting, hair tousled, and blood dripping from the corner of his lips. He held his arms out. “I won’t let you touch my meister.” He snarled, baring his teeth at the witch. She only chuckled with her approach, raising a glowing hand again. 

“You won’t have much of a say once I rip your soul out.” She chortled darkly, suddenly stopping and looking over as she heard something. There was a sharp sounding pop, mingled with the crackling of glass as something was thrown and shattered on the floor. Red liquid seeped everywhere, before it swirled and formed into something the shape of a cougar, but looked to be a little small. Nonetheless, it had snarled, lunging towards the witch. She had backed up just in time, lifting herself into the air with narrowed eyes. Birds of the same liquid and color dove towards her, and you finally looked over. You coughed slightly, eyes widening as you saw the lady from the train heist. The one you had briefly encountered on the top. 

“You shall not take her!” The woman hissed, darting forward, towards Jinx and you. You tried to stand up to defend yourself, but only collapsed down. You let out a weak wail as the feather quill only dug deeper into your shoulder and stomach, and rolled onto your side. The lady was by your side, as was Jinx, but you couldn’t hold consciousness any longer. 

When you woke back up, you saw you were back in the dispensary. The bandages on your body told you that no, that fight wasn’t a dream-- You really had encountered a witch. Swallowing thickly, you sat up more, looking around. Nobody else was here, save for Naigus, whom was scribbling some stuff down at a table. 

“N-Naigus?” You said, voice hoarse. She looked over, eyes flickering as they met your state. 

“You’re awake. Glad to see.” She commented, standing and coming over to check your vitals. “Well, everything seems to be in order. You came back with just some small wounds. I wanted to keep you in here just in case, though.” You frowned. Small wounds? Yes, they were only feathers, but that substance on them… “Jinx said someone had healed you. You were unconscious, though.”

“I see.” You muttered, looking back at your lap. 

“If you’re feeling well enough, you can leave. I know Lord Death would like to hear what happened.”

“Jinx didn’t tell him?” You blinked, surprised. 

“Didn’t get the chance to. You arrived very late last night. I patched Jinx up and sent him home to rest.” Naigus informed, handing you your shirt. 

“Uh huh. Thanks, for doing so.” You said, genuine about your appreciation. You slipped the shirt on, noting that it wasn’t the one you had worn on the mission. You grabbed a new pair of jeans, though, wriggling those on, and thanked Naigus again before walking out. Down the hallway you went, eyes downcast as you thought back again to yesterday. You know you felt Justin’s soul there… It was too well-known by you to be a mistake. And the lady that had saved you… It was the one from the train, right? The witch certainly wouldn’t help you. 

“Dammit.” You muttered, stopping abruptly as your hands clenched to fists. You hadn’t been strong enough, once again. You couldn’t save Justin, or Kid. You couldn’t help them retrieve Brew. You had failed Jinx. With that witch’s soul, and only a couple dozen more souls, he could have been a death scythe. You sniffed slightly, remembering how Jinx had put his life on the line to protect you. _He deserves better. Someone stronger than me… How did he get stuck with some half-blood like me?_ You swallowed again, your thoughts briefly seizing as footsteps you heard prior stop. Looking up, you saw Kid, about ten or so feet away. 

He was partially startled to see you, and you him as well. They… They had saved him. Spartoi had saved him. You felt your throat swell up with emotion, and tears pricked the corners of your eyes. Kid’s face softened, and he looked almost guilty, but a small smile parted his features as he held his arms out. You instantly ran over, wrapping your arms around him and morphing your body into his as you sobbed into his shoulder. He instantly returned the embrace, pressing a kiss to your temple as brought you even closer, if possible. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered to you, and that only made you grab onto him tighter. 

“I-I c-can’t believe you w-w-were beaten b-by… By a book!” You sobbed, and he only let out a breathy chuckle. 

“I know. Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“Y-you’re okay, though… I’m so glad…” You sniffled, forcing tears down, but became confused as he pulled away slightly. He rested his forehead against yours, but couldn’t meet your eyes. One hand came up to brush through your hair, the other caressing your face, his thumb gently tracing your jawbone. 

“No. I’m glad that you’re alright… I… Dammit, I shouldn’t have left you. I’m so… So sorry…” He sounded actually choked as he said this. Your body had stiffened mildly-- This was so unlike him. “At the castle… I should have stayed with you, I… I thought I’d lost you. That was all I could think about when I was in that wretched book; Whether you were alive or not. I was such a fool to leave your side, I swear it…” He swallowed, finally bringing his eyes up to meet yours. Your knees felt weak as you saw the strong torrent of emotions filtering in his eyes, and you knew yours reflected them. “It won’t happen again. I’ll always be by your side. I… I love you.”

Those words were all you needed. You felt yourself breaking down again, but didn’t allow for it, opting to press your lips against his. He returned the gesture, equal passion put in on both of your sides. His lips pressed firm against yours and he held you tight almost as if he was afraid you would vanish from him again. You felt the same, though, and the thought of it just forced another sob up from your throat, forcing you to break the kiss and close your eyes tight as you looked down. 

“Everything will be fine, I swear by my father’s name.” He whispered, voice somewhat distressed to see you in such a state. He gently kissed the sides of your face to banish the tears, and had brought his hand down to rub soothingly up and down your back. One of your own hands moved up to run through his hair as his lips pressed against your face, causing you to sniffle again. The tears were short lived, though. You couldn’t bring yourself to cry any longer-- That’s how it seemed these days. You had finally collected yourself, but you both had stayed in each other's arms, your head resting back on his shoulder. You felt drained, now. Drained, but bright with a new joy and hope for what was to come. 

You knew you still had something else to do, though, before you could sleep forever. “I need to talk to your dad.” You murmured. He hummed, not letting go for a few moments, simply swaying softly with you. 

“I did hear something happened. Wanna tell?” He asked quietly. 

“You’ll hear when I talk to your dad.” You pressed on, a somewhat teasing tone in your voice as you pulled yourself away from him. You sniffed again, knowing you probably looked just downright awful with your red eyes and stained cheeks. Your reddened faintly at the thought, looking away in some purchase of hiding your face. 

“Hey.” Kid frowned, placing his fingers under your chin to turn your head towards him. He seemed to scrutinize your face, and you felt even more self conscious, but as soon as he had moved just a strand of hair away from one side of your face, you relaxed. “There. Even more beautiful.” He breathed out, a soft smile on his lips as he leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to your forehead, then nose, and finally, your lips. You returned it, previous thoughts forgotten as you tilted your head slightly, arms looping around his neck. His own lips were soft, and was just purely… Him. Purely Death the Kid. He had cupped the side of your face again, tilting your head slightly more to deepen the kiss, and your fingers had clutched into the collar of his shirt as his hand slid down to your waist. 

“Don’t you kids have a place to do that _other_ than the hallway?” You and Kid both broke away, faces equally red as you stared Spirit. Hands in his pockets, he didn’t really seem angry. Maybe a little irritated, but a smirk was toying on his face. 

“Are you one to talk?” You blurted out, pouting slightly, but it vanished somewhat as his own face grew red at this, and he looked away. 

“I came to take you to Lord Death.” He said, a little flatly, and you gave a nod. 

“We were on our way.” You told him, and he ‘tch’ed.

“Uh huh. Sure.”

“We were, I swear!” You were flustered now, and he chuckled at this, as did Kid. “Ugh, whatever. Let’s just go.” You stormed ahead. When all three of you reached the room, Lord Death greeted everyone. You then proceeded to explain the predicament that had happened yesterday(well, way earlier today as well), and how you had even felt Justin’s soul there. 

“Hrm… How odd… Now Justin is working with witches? Doesn’t really make sense.” Lord Death fretted. “You said she dressed religiously, though?” You gave a nod. “Maybe she’s working with them, then… For the Kishin…”

“She had another symbol on her, though.” You commented. 

“Oh? What did it look like?” Death tilted slightly.

“Uh… I, don’t quite recall... “ You admitted meekly. “Not like the Kishin’s, though. 

“Ah, well; No harm, no foul. As long as she stays away, there won’t be anything to worry about!” Lord Death clapped his hands together. “As for that other woman you mentioned, I’m afraid I don’t know much about her, either. Doesn’t sound familiar. Sorry!” He shrugged, and you did as well. 

“It’s fine.” You said, stretching your arms and trying to stifle a yawn, although you failed. 

“You look tired-- Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll see you two later!” Lord Death chippered, throwing up a peace sign. You and Kid said your farewells, and Kid took your hand in his as he lead you out. Lord Death watched this, tilting again once he saw you both depart out of the room. “Oh-hoh. When did that happen?”

“Earlier, I think. I caught them sucking faces in the hallway.” Spirit smirked lazily. 

“Boy, they do grow up fast, don’t they?” Death sighed out, suddenly sounding less chipper than usual. He glanced at the crack in his mask out of the corner of his eye in the mirror, and became quiet. 

“Not fast enough, it seems.” Spirit commented slowly, and Death turned to him. 

“I’m not so sure, Spirit, your little Maka--”

“I mean, what you just talked to them about. You knew more, didn’t you? Especially about that woman that helped her.” He interrupted, face blank as he regarded the reaper. Lord Death didn’t answer, was just a silent, cloaked shinigami. 

“I don’t believe it’s time for her to know, yet.” He finally answered. “I’ll know when the time is right, Spirit, don’t worry. As for now, she has to focus on the large battle ahead of her-- The fight ahead of all of us."


End file.
